GPA Board Directors

Ian Stocks Finance Director

Ian Stocks | Finance Director

Ian studied Business Management at Loughborough University, followed by a Diploma Industrial Studies.  He spent fifteen years as the UK General Manager for an international childcare company and enjoyed seeing it grow significantly during the time he worked for them.

For the last seven years, Ian was a Partner and Practice Manager at Abington Park Surgery, taking retirement in early 2018.

Primary Care is a big passion of Ian’s, particularly the financial and business disciplines.  He is also very interested in federated working, collaborative working and making General Practice Alliance work for the practices and patients of Northampton.

I chose to be Finance Director at GPA because I like the discipline and structure that finance brings.

Ian became the Finance Director of General Practice Alliance in April 2018, and hopes to have a positive and constructive impact on the federation using his Practice Manager experience and knowledge as well as his genuine desire to help transform Primary Care.  His end goal is for the federation to deliver the requirements of the NHS GP Five Year Forward View, working with surgeries to do it in the most efficient and compassionate way with available resources.  

When he’s not working, Ian enjoys traveling to new places and going on holiday with his family, as well as spending time with his daughters and grandson, and exercising.

Key Roles

• STP Work Streams
• New Models of Care
• Other Contractual Work Streams
• Regulator Responsibilities
• Finance

Elizabeth Perryman HR Director

Elizabeth Perryman | HR Director

Liz has worked for the NHS for twenty-nine years in a variety of administrative and managerial roles, at St Crispins and Princess Marina, Northampton General Hospital, Out of Hours services, the Primary Care Trust and for the past six years in general practice at Greenview Surgery in Northampton.

She is passionate about healthcare equality, taking a particular interest in training across all disciplines in general practice as well as looking at shared ways of working across practices to reduce duplication and improve standards.

Liz has been a Director of General Practice Alliance since inception, as she wanted to be part of developing general practice within Northampton and felt her previous roles and experience would be useful assets to the emerging federation.  Her end goal would be for practices to have a shared training package and for all disciplines to see general practice as a valuable career path.

Outside of work, Liz enjoys yoga, travel and relaxing with her family.

Key Roles

• STP Work Streams
• New Models of Care
• Other Contractual Work Streams
• Regulator Responsibilities

Dr David Smart Clinical Director – Mental Health & Prevention Lead

Dr David Smart | Clinical Director – Mental Health & Prevention Lead

Dr Smart trained to become a General Practitioner (GP) at Leicester Medical School and has always had a strong passion and interest in Mental Health.  Following his training he took a counselling course, but soon realised that it needed a bigger movement behind.  He is now a GP and Partner at Leicester Terrace Healthcare Centre, where he has worked for the last twenty-eight years. He likes to ensure the practice takes an innovative approach whilst providing the best patient care.

Dr Smart is passionate in promoting Action for Happiness locally and through his links with the Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce he is encouraging local businesses to promote the importance of positive mental well-being with their employees. If people take more personal action to improve their own mental and physical well-being, not only will they feel and function better, there will also be less demand on the NHS.  He believes in using an asset-based approach to developing Primary Care, utilising the skilled clinicians practices have within the area and the resources in the community.  He also takes a particular interest in public health, with the long-term aim of improving the quality of life for the residents of Northampton.

Dr Smart joined General Practice Alliance as a Clinical Director as he believes belonging to a federation gives GPs a voice. With his previous experience working with the Clinical Commissioning Group and his insight into commissioning, Dr Smart truly believes Primary Care should be placed at the forefront and that transformation is essential. 

In his spare time, Dr Smart takes a keen interest in fitness and exercise, enjoying cycling, walking and nature in general.

Key Roles

• Mental Health
• Action for Happiness
• Well-being
• STP Work Streams
• New Models of Care
• Other Contractual Work Streams
• Regulator Responsibilities

Dr Azhar Zafar Diabetes & Research Lead

Dr Azhar Zafar | Diabetes and Research Lead

Dr Zafar undertook medical training at the Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby.  Following this, he spent eight years in General Medicine before joining  VTS (Vocational Training Scheme) General Practitioner (GP) training in Sheffield. After completing GP training, he joined Danes Camp Medical Centre in April 2006.  He has a strong passion for Diabetes and the management of Diabetes in Primary Care and would like to see Primary Care at the forefront of Research, to build evidence for a better Healthcare service delivery. 

Dr Zafar has an extensive portfolio covering  Research and Training in Diabetes and Cardiovascular medicine.

Dr Zafar is an experienced Diabetologist with a demonstrated history of Research working in the medical practice industry. He is a strong educational professional and a clinical tutor at both Imperial College London and Buckingham Medical School. He is also a module leader and faculty member of the Leadership and Management Academy, Health Education England.

As a Clinical Director of General Practice Alliance, Dr Zafar hopes to use his research skills and passion for Diabetes to improve patient goals, with an end goal of member practices being actively involved in research for the area, achieving maximum evidence-based outcomes in Diabetes management.

When the British weather permits, Dr Zafar likes to play cricket, as well as travelling every year to explore new places with his family.

Key Roles

• Diabeties
• Research & Development
• Danes Camp Medical Centre
• Rillwood
• STP Work Streams
• New Models of Care
• Other Contractual Work Streams
• Regulator Responsibilities

Daniel Kane Chief Executive Officer

Daniel Kane | Chief Executive Officer

Daniel studied Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations at Birmingham City University.  After graduation, he took a role working for Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust as a Finance Officer.  His next jobs took him to Maple Access Partnership in Northampton, where he worked as a Medical Note Summariser and then as an IT and QOF (Quality Outcomes Framework) Co-ordinator.

In 2011 he was promoted to Business Manager at the practice, allowing him to build on his Primary Care knowledge base, as well as learning how to bring in additional income by creating new services, and competing in competitive tenders and bids.  It was during this time that he developed special interests in mental health and substance misuse, as well as exploring alternative business models in Primary Care, finding new ways to bring money into the system.

Daniel became Chief Executive Officer of General Practice Alliance in April 2016. His role is pivotal in leading the federation to deliver the NHS GP Five Year Forward View supporting transformation in Primary Care. A big part of this involves bringing more money into the sector and driving forwards quality in patient care through education. 

When he’s not at work, Daniel enjoys going to the gym, socialising with friends and spending time with his son and family.   His other passion is technology, from both a personal and professional perspective.

Key Roles

• Technology
• New models of care
• Kings Heath
• Diabeties
• STP Work Streams
• New Models of Care
• Other Contractual Work Streams
• Regulator Responsibilities

Dr Dipesh Naik Clinical Executive Director – Complex Care

Dr Dipesh Naik | Clinical Executive Director – Complex Care

Dr Naik studied for an MBBS in Medicine at Guy’s Kings and St Thomas’ Medical School, followed by an Intercalated BSC in Primary Healthcare at University College London. This confirmed his career intentions within Primary Care.   He completed his foundation year training and then joined the Northampton General Practitioner (GP) training scheme, qualifying as a GP in 2010.

His first role was at Guilsborough Surgery and for the last six years Dr Naik has worked as a Partner at Abington Medical Centre.  Between 2012 and 2015 he held the position of Chair of the Northampton Central Locality for Nene Clinical Commissioning Group.  

Dr Naik’s key interests are Same Day Access, Cardiology and Dermatology, along with whole systems change processes and working better with IT to streamline services.

Choosing to be a Director of General Practice Alliance was driven through wanting to make a difference in the transformation of Primary Care as a whole.  Dr Naik’s long-term goal is to have every GP practice using Triage Control as their Same Day Access model, incorporating an online version to increase access to the surgery for patients and provide extra capacity to practices.

Outside of work, Dr Naik is an avid Liverpool Football Club supporter, and enjoys playing football.  As well as this, he likes to spend time with his family, exploring new places in the UK together during weekends and school holidays.

Key Roles

• Collaborative Care Team
• Abington Medical Centre
• Triage Control
• STP Work Streams
• New Models of Care
• Other Contractual Work Streams
• Regulator Responsibilities