Practice Team

Our GPs

Dr Karen Cooke (f)
Sheffield 1995, M.B., Ch.B., D.R.C.O.G., M.R.C.G.P

Dr Cooke has been a partner at Eastham Group Practice since 2002, now working all day Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday . Her lead areas of interest include Mental Health and Safeguarding . Dr Cooke is a GP Trainer and enthusiastically undertakes the role of Educational Supervisor helping to shape the next generation of general practitioners throughout their educational journey. Dr Cooke is also trained to provide seafarer medical examinations including ENG and OGUK medical examinations.

Dr Cooke is the practice Senior Partner

Outside of the practice, Dr Cooke works in Healthier South Wirral’s (HSW) Acute Capacity Team, providing additional appointments to the practices within HSW.

Dr Paula Cowan (f)
MB ChB LRCSPI DFFP DRCOG MRCGP

Dr Cowan has been a partner at Eastham Group Practice since 2003, now working all day Monday and Friday in practice. Her lead areas of interest include Women’s health, incorporating Gynae and Sexual health, contraception, menopause matters, and she is a trained coil fitter.

She also has an interest in Respiratory medicine including Asthma and COPD management.

Dr Cowan is also the practice HR and Finance lead.

Outside of the practice, Dr Cowan works for NHS England as the North West Medical Director for Primary Care.

Dr Nazia Mohammed (f)

Dr Kelly Fleet (f)
Liverpool 2006, MbChB, MRCGP, DRCOG

Dr Alison Hughes (f)
Leicester 2007, M.B. Ch.B (Hons) M.R.C.G.P.

Advanced Clinical Practitioners

Tammy Townsend (f)
Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Tammy has been an Advanced nurse practitioner at Eastham Group Practice since 2019, now working all day Monday, Thursday and Friday in practice.

Tammy has been a nurse for 20 years, her career started in the British Army where she served for 12 years, including operational tours of Iraq.

Tammy has a full Master’s qualification in Advanced Practice and is a none medical prescriber meaning she is able to prescribe a wide variety of medications for many health conditions.

Tammy’s main interests are women’s health, including contraception and respiratory medicine.

Outside of the practice Tammy works for Healthy South Wirral ACT team.

Sophie Parkes (f)
Advanced Nurse Practitioner

Sophie has been an Advanced nurse practitioner at Eastham Group Practice since 2023, now working all day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday in practice.

Previously Sophie has worked as a senior district nurse/team leader in Liverpool.

Sophie has completed Specialist Community Practitioner Qualification 2022 – this included her advanced clinical examination and diagnostics and V300 prescribing.

Sophie's main interests and experience is in many areas of acute and long term illness

Outside of the practice Sophie works for Healthy South Wirral ACT team.

Darren Early (m)
Advanced Clinical Practitioner

Darren has been an Advanced clinical practitioner at Eastham Group Practice since 2022, now working all day Monday, Wednesday Thursday and Friday in practice.

Darren has worked as a Paramedic for 26 years with North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Darren's career started in the RAF Regiment with experience in the first Gulf war and three tours of Northern Ireland.

His interests include acute presentations all conditions - ECG interpretation and acute mental health assessment- self harm and skin lesion assessment.

Practice Nurses & Healthcare Assistants

Dawn (f)
Practice Nurse, BSc(Hons), Dip HE (Nursing), RGN

Dawn joined the Nursing Team at Eastham Group Practice in 2020, now working all day Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Her lead areas of interest are Diabetes Care & Management, Women's Health and Travel Health Assessments & Vaccinations.

Her clinics include Diabetic Reviews, Cervical Screening, Baby & Childhood Immunisations, Adult Immunisations, Wound Care & Suture Removal, Travel Health, Anticoagulation monitoring and NHS Health Checks.

Victoria
Practice Nurse, RGN in 2003

Victoria has worked in general practice since 2012 and has been a practice nurse at Eastham Group Practice since 2022, now working all day Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

Her lead areas of interest include is respiratory (asthma and COPD), Cervical screening, Coil removal, National childhood immunisation program,

National adult's immunisation program, Travel risk assessments and immunisation, Wound care and suture removal, Anticoagulation monitoring, NHS health checks.

Jo (m)
Health Coach

Jo joined Eastham Group Practice in 2022, now working all day Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.

Health coaches are normally shared across practices in the Primary Care Network. However, the practice opted to employ its own as part of a commitment to supporting people with their overall health and wellbeing, and helping to reduce the risks/impacts of long-term conditions.

Jo has an educational background in physiology, sports science, coaching and counselling. His interests include the psychology of behaviour change, population health promotion, and addressing inequalities/barriers to good health and wellbeing.

Jo also supports the nursing team, providing appointments for ECGs, spirometry, health checks.

Nurse 4
Practice Nurse

HCA1
Healthcare Assistant

HCA2
Healthcare Assistant

HCA3
Healthcare Assistant

Other Staff

Wellbeing Practitioner

Wellbeing Practitioners empowers people to take control of their health and wellbeing. They give people time to focus on ‘what matters to me’ and take a holistic approach to an individual’s health and wellbeing. They work with a range of people who may benefit from social prescribing, including people who are lonely, have complex social needs, low level mental health needs and long-term conditions.

Wellbeing Practitioners support people by connecting them to non-medical, community-based activities, groups and services that meet their practical, social and emotional needs, including specialist advice services and arts and culture, physical activity, and nature and green based activities. They use coaching and motivational interviewing techniques to support people to take control of their own health and wellbeing.

Health Coach

Health Coaches work with people to support their overall health and wellbeing. They specialise in supporting areas of lifestyle and health behaviours to reduce risks or improve the management of long-term conditions. Through longer-form conversations, health coaching provides an opportunity to identify your priorities and goals, consider how you may adjust your lifestyle in relation to these, and help address any challenges you face to achieving them.

Health Coaches help people develop a greater sense of control over their own health. They do this by supporting aspects of behaviour change that is important to each individual, such as motivation, autonomy, confidence, and goal setting. They recognise that there is no “one-size fits all” approach and will work with you to understand your preferences and ensure that any guidance is personalised to you.

As part of working with people to develop self-management strategies, Health Coaches can be effective in signposting you to other local services and organisations to support you. They also support groups of people through structured educational workshops and activities, providing an element of peer-support and interaction.

Rachael
Mental Health Trainee Assistant Practitioner

Rachael, our Mental Health Trainee Assistant Practitioner works across the 6 Healthier South Wirral GP practices providing care for patients who need non-clinical mental health support, guidance and advice. Three ways to look after your mental wellbeing;
- Getting in touch with friends and family
- Taking time out for yourself by doing things you love to do
- Reaching out to those who can help

Rachael can offer you the support you need. If you are suffering with your mental health please reach out and contact the practice.

Social Prescribing Wellbeing Practitioner

A Social Prescribing Wellbeing Practitioner give people time, focusing on ‘what matters to me’ and takes a holistic approach to people’s health and wellbeing.

We can help create plans to successfully achieve long term changes and connect with local services that offer support.

We offer support in:
- Practical problems, such as housing, money, welfare, access to food or prescriptions.
- Connecting to others, i.e. where to meet new people with similar interests, how to get involved in life-enriching activities locally
- Improving mental wellbeing by offering a friendly listening ear and by providing advice on the best way to access help for people feeling low, isolated and stressed.

Training practice

We are honoured to be a designated teaching practice which involves having medical students from the University of Liverpool. Occasionally, we may ask your permission for you to participate in their teaching programme.

Students often learn more from their patients than their tutors and books! You can be involved in the medical learning of our future doctors, for the benefit of future patients. It is of great benefit for the students to learn from you in this way, but we will always respect your decision if you do not feel comfortable with this. Please inform the staff if you do not wish to be seen by a medical student.

GP net earnings

NHS England require that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised, and the required disclosure is shown below. However, it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice and should not be used to form any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparison with any other practice.”

The average pay for GPs working in Eastham Group Practice in the last financial year was £79,409 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 2 full time GPs, 6 part time GPs and 1 locum GP who have worked in the practice for more than six months.