Heartbeat Team Members

Jacqui Wilson

Clinical Services Manager

Jacqui moved into Health and Social care 8 years ago when she worked for a sensory impairment charity after an 18 year career in the banking sector. From there she worked for GP practices the area of York and a GP Federation before started at Heartbeat in January 2022.

Jacqui is driven around realising the benefits to patient care and being part of services that support Primary Care. She’s is privileged to have worked with several talented teams and individuals across her career to improve the services and experience of patients.

Amongst her many career highlight is having the opportunity to work with such a talented team at Heartbeat and she is most proud of her two beautiful daughters.

Dr Andrew Dickie

Clinical Lead

Andy’s passion for medicine started back at school with his natural interest in and aptitude for science. His decision to become a GP was influenced by a variety of work experience but more so by his time serving in the Royal Navy, where he looked after the health of the ship’s company for months at a time. Andy thrives on the longer-term relationships developed with patients.

Aside from his commitment to Heartbeat’s mission, Andy loves to be with his family and in the great outdoors, especially cycling.

Dr Hazel Claydon

GP Clinical Lead

Hazel made a career change from practising law from a desire to help people and make them happy. During this transition she became a Medical Student Clinical Supervisor and, alongside qualifying as a GP, her career highlights are helping to deliver a baby on Christmas Day and the wonderful patients and colleagues she has worked with so far.

Hazel is most proud of a clinical diagnosis where she spotted a vertebral artery dissection which might have otherwise been missed, her resilience to not giving up and making a difference.

Outside of work Hazel loves hiking and is a history fanatic, especially from 1500 onwards. She is currently building a Georgian doll’s house for her children and is driven by her personal values of equality, fairness and honesty and the love of her family. Hazel prides herself on doing her best, making people smile and her determination.

Helen Syddall

Lead Practice Nurse

Helen qualified as a nurse in York in 1992 and went on to serve for 11 years with the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, gaining valuable experience in a range of clinical and leadership roles. Since 2003, Helen has worked in general practice and combines working in a local surgery, with being our Lead Practice Nurse, providing clinical support to the clinical services team and working within the Better Access Service to enhance patient care and access.

Outside of work, Helen is a keen traveller and loves exploring in her campervan. She enjoys hill walking, weight training and Pilates. Helen is also involved in the family business as a buyer and bakes cakes for the coffee shop, combining her love for creativity, community and good food!

Julia McGough

Quality & Compliance Officer

Julia previously worked for a large finance company as a Branch Manager, Tees Valley Area Manager and Internal Auditor for 23 years before being made redundant. Julia audited 125 branches in England, Scotland & Wales to ensure all areas of the business were compliant and meeting industry standards. At Heartbeat Julia is closely following Care Quality Commission guidance whilst developing new systems, ensuring all documentation is correct, electronically filed and ready for inspection.

In her spare time Julia enjoys spending time with her two boys, playing her saxophone and walking her little dog called Ted.

Lissa Wynn

Clinical Services Officer

Lissa recently joined Heartbeat after several years in a busy private sector role, where she became used to staying organised, juggling multiple projects, and keeping everything running smoothly. Although, moving into primary care is a completely new experience, Lissa is genuinely excited to get stuck in and support services that make a real difference for patients.

Outside of work, family life keeps Lissa busy. Most of her time is spent cheering on her two children at netball or tennis, going for long walks with their much-loved Cavalier King Charles, Ginny, or caring for foster kittens from a local rehoming centre.

Claire Dowson

Clinical Services Officer

Claire spent several years working across the childcare sector including nannying for a family in Brighton before transitioning to the NHS 11 years ago. Since September 2021, Claire has been proud to be a part of the Heartbeat team, where she continues to develop skills and help coordinate and support the delivery of Clinical Services.

Outside of work Claire spends most of her time outdoors with her teenage daughter and horse. When they are not horse riding, they are often out on long walks with they’re energetic cocker spaniel, Marlo.

Holly Kell

Clinical Services Assistant

Holly is delighted to be part of the Heartbeat Primary Care team. Her interest in healthcare began with studying My Access to Health at college, before taking time out to raise her three wonderful children and run her own business. Holly is now excited to continue her journey and build a career within the NHS.

Outside of work, much of Holly’s time is spent supporting her 3 children in their hobbies, her two sons on the football pitch and her daughter at both netball and dancing. Balancing family life with a passion for healthcare makes this role a rewarding next step for Holly.

Alex Hartley

Finance Manager

Alex has always wanted to be in a role where she could feel like she could make a difference to people’s lives and now feels very proud to be working for such a fantastic company as Heartbeat. After having her son, she had the opportunity to work from home, helping her sister out with her accountancy business which meant she enjoyed his precious early years. Sadly, her sister passed away a few years ago which not only left a gaping hole in their lives but also meant that it was time for Alex to seek new opportunities. Alex felt proud to be offered the Finance Assistant role at Heartbeat. She loves the work and feels blessed to be a part of such an amazing team.

Alex recently passed her AAT level 4 which she studied for around work and looking after her ever so energetic son!

Claire Darton

Finance Assistant

Claire has over 15 years’ experience working in finance and payroll across the hospitality industry, from pubs to hotels. Claire enjoys using her knowledge and experiences to drive process improvement, streamline ways of working and making the day to day easier. Moving over to the NHS has been a welcome change, providing fresh challenges and new systems to learn.

Outside of work Claire enjoys golf, travelling and running around after her shih Tzu Millie, not forgetting her 2 children.

Nikki Mills

Human Resources Officer

Nikki joins Heartbeat from the finance sector where she has worked for the past 12 years. Her career began working in payroll and more recently over the last 5 years within HR. She is truly passionate about looking after people and supporting them to overcome any challenges.

Outside of work Nikki loves exploring and discovering new places with her family – her two young boys and Amber the Cockapoo certainly keep her on her toes!

Rowen Thurston

Business Support Assistant

Rowen joined the Heartbeat Primary Care team in early 2025 and is enjoying the variety and pace the role offers. With a background as a Senior Recruitment Consultant in the care sector, Rowen has been able to transfer and develop her skillset to support both the team and wider business needs.

Before her recruitment career, Rowen pursued her passion for travel and tourism. She worked as Assistant to the Cruise Director onboard Disney Cruise Line, exploring destinations across the USA and Caribbean. She later moved to Yorkshire, where she delivered five-star service at a luxury hotel.

Outside of work, Rowen enjoys spending quality time with her young son and husband, where their days are filled with fun activities, often involving Paw Patrol or dinosaurs!

Sandy Angel-Jones-Fitton

Projects and Training Officer

Sandy’s interest in health began with studying a degree in biomedicine in Durham University that brought to life the intricate design of the human body, its hosts, parasites and medical treatment. From this knowledge she developed a desire to carry on learning and helping medical professionals keep their depth of knowledge and education up to date.

Sandy’s career highlight at Heartbeat has been her involvement in delivering clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals’ continued education, known as Continued Professional Development (CPD), through protected learning time, via virtual media and at live events.

Sandy’s ultimate purpose and goal is that knowledge and experience is shared among all healthcare professionals and those who are engaged in these CPD sessions keep on learning; and in learning they pass their skill on to each other, and this translates into better outcomes for the patients they care for.

Outside of Heartbeat Sandy has many hobbies that are ‘art, nature and sport’ oriented. She is passionate about them and the joy and peace they bring to her busy life, but her big passion is without doubt learning more about the creation and design of the human body. Sandy is driven and guided by her Christian faith and her family.

Heather Ratcliffe

Neighbourhoods Development Coordinator

Heather joined Heartbeat in September 2025 as a year one trainee on the NHS Graduate Management Trainee Scheme. She graduated from the University of Birmingham, where her most memorable time was spent during her placement year and in Kenya with a children’s charity.

Heather always aspired to work in the public sector and was fortunate enough to secure a place on the very competitive graduate scheme where she is working in the Neighbourhoods team at Heartbeat. Heather is excited to see how her professional and personal skills develop while being at Heartbeat.

Heather loves spending time with family, friends and her two cats, travelling and being active.

Clinical Services Team