In a bold statement, the private healthcare provider in Oxfordshire has announced the appointment of Natalie Balmain as the incoming Chief Operating Officer (COO), succeeding Dr. Zahoor Khan effective from 1st April 2020.
Balmain, 33, is a healthcare communications specialist with a wealth of experience, having worked for NHS departments across the country, including Salford Royal and Manchester Royal Infirmary. During her tenure in Manchester she was involved in communications covering the Manchester Arena bombings and presented her own docu-short on type 1 diabetes for the BBC, which amassed over 3.5 million views.
In a statement, Balmain said that apart from the obvious honour of being offered the top spot at the hospital, her decision to take the reigns was ‘deeply personal’.
“Being someone who lives with a long-term condition myself, I have spent a lot of time within the healthcare system as a patient, and I am acutely aware of the impact that sensitive, compassionate and personal treatment has when a person is going through one of the most vulnerable and worrying times in their lives. To be in a position to lead an organisation with such a fantastic reputation for care at a time when the healthcare industry as a whole is moving towards a P4 medicine model (P4 medicine is predictive, preventative, personalised and participatory), is incredibly exciting and sits perfectly within my own beliefs and ambitions for healthcare provision in the UK.”
She steps up from her existing role in the hospital as Marketing Director and continues to be supported by the Medical Director and Registered Manager Professor Kaveh Shakib. Prior to joining the hospital, she was previously Head of Communications at NHS Walsall Clinical Commissioning Group.
Dr Khan, the departing COO says: “I’m delighted to hand over the baton to Natalie, who brings world-class digital expertise, youthful energy and a keen understanding of the UK healthcare market, all of which are indispensable at this stage in The New Foscote’s journey.”