Executive team

Clare Watson started her role as Accountable Officer for the four Cheshire CCGs on 1 January 2019.

Working in the NHS for over 25 years, Clare has a clear focus on integration and partnership working. Bringing her experience of transformation in Greater Manchester to commissioning in Cheshire, Clare has a passion for commissioning based on holistic health and wellbeing, making a real difference to local populations.

Since Clare’s appointment as interim Accountable Officer of NHS South Cheshire CCG and NHS Vale Royal CCG in September 2017 she has worked with GP Members and other partners to support primary care at scale, enabling general practice to thrive and transform. Her leadership of both CCGs delivered organisational and financial turnaround, leading the organisations out of special measures moving from inadequate to requires improvement IAF ratings in the first six months of her leadership.

Clare has brought her experience and passion for delivering place based integrated care and sustainability to her new role as Accountable Officer for the Cheshire CCGs. She will support the improvement of outcomes through developing Integrated Care Partnerships as well as leading the Working Together As Cheshire programme in order to make a real difference to the patients and public of Cheshire.

Lynda is a chartered accountant by profession and has worked in the NHS for over 25 years. After qualifying as a chartered accountant, Lynda moved into the NHS in North Wales initially in audit and then as Associate Director of Finance, looking after the financial accounts, a number of secondary care contracts and GP fund holding.

After a period of four years Lynda moved to the North West Regional Office as the primary care finance lead for the North West Region, and became the North West Primary Care Red Book expert. With the changes of government Lynda became involved in the development of many primary care initiatives including PCGs, PMS, PDS and ultimately PCTs.

Feeling the need to get back to the coal face, Lynda moved to South Cheshire and became the Head of Finance for the Central Cheshire and Crewe and District PCGs, this involved managing devolved PCG based financial budgets and a contracting portfolio including Mid Cheshire NHS Foundation Trust.

After the advent of PCTs, Lynda moved into the commissioning team, taking on performance, information and contracting and their related management accounting functions. This ultimately involved the development and implementation of payment by results. As the contracting function became more complex and the PCTs in East and Central Cheshire merged, Lynda became more focussed on the contracting agenda.

When CCGs were implemented Lynda decided to move back into mainstream finance and became the Chief Finance Officer for NHS Vale Royal and NHS South Cheshire CCGs. In 2019, Lynda interviewed for and was appointed to the Executive Director for Finance and Contracting for NHS Cheshire CCG.  This is a role Lynda feels very privileged to have been awarded and hopes to help improve the health outcomes of the population of Cheshire.

Tracey started her career as an NHS management trainee in Wales and went on to work in a number of acute and specialist trusts across the North West of England as a general manager. She has qualifications in project management, patient and public involvement, NHS management and executive leadership. Tracey sits on a national committee for NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) which makes clinical and cost effectiveness decisions on new treatments and technologies.

Joining NHS South Cheshire and NHS Vale Royal CCGs Executive Team in January 2018 as the Executive Director of Commissioning she went on to be appointed as the Executive Director of Strategy and Partnerships for the Cheshire CCGs in June 2019. Tracey brings over 20 years of NHS and third sector senior management experience with her along with a passion for leadership development and a track record of delivering clinically led service improvements. 

Tracey is very proud to be mum to two teenagers. When not at work, Tracey is a keen gardener (winning second place in the local show for her roses!). She plays netball defence for Cheshire stars netball team and volunteers as a befriender for a local organisation which reaches out to isolated individuals.

Neil joined the NHS in 2008 having previously worked in a variety of operational, planning and change roles in the banking sector. Neil was recruited to the NHS through a national leadership development programme and initially worked in the acute sector in both operational and change management roles before moving to Central and Eastern Primary Care Trust in August 2009.

Neil was involved in setting up NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG and went on to take the role as Director of Commissioning. Within this role Neil led the CCG commissioning agenda including; contracting and performance, primary care and also took on the role of Turnaround Director leading on the development and delivery of the CCG QIPP programme.

Prior to moving into commissioning 10 years ago Paula worked for 20 years in clinical services, both as an occupational therapist and a clinical manager. She has delivered and managed health care services in many of the NHS providers across Wirral and Cheshire and in social services too.

Paula is responsible for securing continuous quality improvements in the care delivered by providers of NHS care; including primary care, community, mental health, learning disabilities and acute hospital services. She is a passionate advocate of using patient and carer experiences to improve care.

Paula is also the lead executive director responsible for the statutory duties of the NHS to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and the protection of adults at risk from harm.

Alongside this quality and safeguarding role, she is the lead Allied Health Professional in commissioning and promotes the involvement of therapy staff in commissioning work streams. 

Paula is responsible for commissioning the kind of care we want for ourselves and holding providers to account for achieving that standard.

Matthew started his role as Director of Governance and Corporate Development for the four Cheshire CCGs on 1 June 2019.

Prior to this Matthew has worked in both local authority and NHS organisations for over 17 years in a variety of roles. The early part of his NHS career was focused on the planning and delivery of health promotion and public health initiatives across Stockport and Eastern Cheshire before taking on more senior roles within Central and Eastern Cheshire Primary Care Trust, including the role of Assistant Director of Public Health. Matthew joined NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG in 2012 and has been responsible for the oversight and delivery of corporate services since then, including undertaking Board/Governing Body secretary responsibilities, and executive lead for communications and engagement.

Matthew is married with two children and lives in Macclesfield.