Our people

Harmoni is made up of an eclectic mix of roles and personalities. The one thing we have in common is that we all strive to provide a quality service for our patients. Below we have given an insight into some of the roles and personalities in our team.

Clinical staff

Lesley Boler, Director of Nursing and Education, Corporate

"I have been in nursing for 26 years and am originally from South Shields in Tyneside where I use to be a canoe lifeguard at the seaside. I scuba dive in my spare time, and growing up wanted to be a marine biologist. I am married with two sons aged 18 and 22 and I have been working for Harmoni for over two years. The best part of my job is the diversity of the role and working with people to make a difference to the care patients receive. I have to ensure that the nursing workforce is working together to provide a safe clinical service alongside other staff roles within Harmoni. I enjoy the challenges that are presented on a regular basis, and that there are never any two days the same. I am in an enviable position as I love my job and all aspects of it."

Dr Mike Taylor, Regional Medical Director, Central and South-West

"I grew up in a general practice; the surgery was between the kitchen and the sitting room. My parents were both GPs, and so I was genetically hardwired to follow in their footsteps! My life as a GP is endlessly fascinating at all sorts of levels, not least in my role as Harmoni regional medical director, which has a potent mix of activities including governance, performance, assurance, strategy and business development. Perhaps most rewarding is working with a great team of clinical leads, the regional director, the medical director, and many others, to try and deliver the best set of services possible. I have been part of Harmoni since 2004, and I cannot help but feel proud of the services we deliver. Our values capture the high standards we set out to achieve. The variety of services in urgent care delivered by Harmoni provides a viable alternative to a more traditional GP career; there are fantastic opportunities to grow and develop as a GP - I would warmly recommend it."

Dr Pamela Barcella, Out of Hours GP, Suffolk

"I am originally from Italy and came to England in 1996 for a years work experience as a Senior House Officer in A&E. I never left! I am now a well established (and hopefully well respected) GP in Suffolk. I have been working for the local Out of Hours co-operative since 2002 and for Harmoni since April 2010. I enjoy my job and find it varied, flexible and well suited to my busy life as a mum of two young girls. More than anything, I like the interaction with people that Out of Hours work involves. I feel privileged to work with such great staff, from call handlers to co-ordinators and GP and nurse colleagues. Despite the demands of the job and the strain sometimes caused by high demand, everyone keeps their chin up and works as a great team. I don't get a lot of spare time nowadays (anyone who knows my two girls can understand this!) but if I had I would love to sit down and read a good book!"

Non-clinical staff

Gemma Streeter, Senior Patient Services Co-ordinator, Corporate

"I travelled the world throughout my childhood, and had visited 27 countries by the age of 10. I returned to college whilst working full-time at the age of 17 and achieved an NVQ, GNVQ and five GCSEs, which I am very proud of. I worked in education for six years and started with Harmoni in October 2007. I genuinely love the team I work in and always feel supported in my role. I like being the face of the company for patients to discuss their experiences, and enjoy closing a complaint knowing that we have resolved the complainants concerns and restored their faith in our service. I like that we can take a complaint and use it to improve the service we provide for future patients. I spend most my day speaking to patients, logging complaints, formulating responses and monitoring trends. In my spare time I am a bit of a dare-devil and have bungee jumped, skydived and bounced down a hill in a sphere. I am currently looking for my next thrill!"

Steve Swainson, Co-ordinator/Call Handler/Driver/Receptionist, Buckinghamshire

"I have been working part-time for Harmoni for over 7 years. I also work for Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service as a fire-fighter, and have served in Aylesbury, Milton Keynes and now Buckingham for the last 26 years. I enjoy my job at Harmoni because I do a variety of different roles within the company such as a co-ordinator, call handler, driver and receptionist. I like my colleagues and the team environment we work in. Within my role it is essential I treat people fairly and how I would like to be treated myself. I am 50 years old and have been married for 30 years to my lovely wife Helen, and have two wonderful grown-up children, Andrew 28 and Rebecca 25."

 Pam Clarke, Regional Director, East of England and Midlands

"When I was younger I wanted to be a teacher and made all the children in my street sit through lessons on my toy blackboard! However, I have been working for Harmoni for over 15 years now (I was married for less!) and cover the East of England regions. As regional director I enjoy ensuring we are always improving patient care. In my role I work with the local team to implement change, and like the opportunities this offers to staff as well as to patients. It is important for me to ensure members of my team enjoy their jobs and I like seeing them develop within the organisation. I am a very competitive person and it is important for me to make sure my region is always striving to meet targets. In my spare time I play for a netball team, and have done so for over 30 years; I am just starting to get the hang of it!"