Liz Oke

Clinic Director

Biography

Liz Oke is an experienced healthcare leader and Clinic Director with a strong clinical background and a long-standing commitment to high-quality, safe patient care. A Registered Nurse by profession, Liz brings over three decades of experience across the NHS, independent healthcare, and not-for-profit sectors. Her career reflects a consistent focus on clinical leadership, organisational development, and patient safety, underpinned by a deep understanding of the challenges facing modern healthcare services.

Training

Liz qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1988 and spent the early part of her career developing a broad clinical and leadership skill set within the NHS. She was awarded an NHS bursary to undertake a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Sheffield, reflecting her potential as a senior healthcare leader.

Her MBA dissertation explored the increasing demands placed on nursing and midwifery services, making evidence-based recommendations to ensure sufficient support staff are in place so healthcare professionals can focus on the roles they are trained to deliver. This work followed a year-long secondment involving extensive consultation with healthcare professionals and stakeholders as part of the Stronger Nursing Organisation Review.

Liz continues to invest in her professional development and is currently undertaking an MSc in Patient Safety and Human Factors at the University of Edinburgh, further strengthening her expertise in patient safety, systems improvement, and human factors in healthcare.

Career

Liz spent 25 years working within the NHS in a variety of senior clinical and operational roles. Her experience includes serving as Deputy Director and Clinical Lead for a major hospital design and build project delivered under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), where she contributed to shaping services that supported safe, efficient, and patient-centred care.

In 2011, Liz transitioned to the independent healthcare sector, joining BMI Healthcare (now Circle Health Group) as Director of Clinical Services at The Park Hospital in Nottingham. She held this role for five years before progressing to Executive Director at BMI Huddersfield. During her time with BMI, Liz also represented her peers on several corporate-level groups and briefly served as a Specialist Advisor to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

In 2018, Liz moved to the not-for-profit sector, joining Healthcare Management Trust as Head of Clinical Services at St Hugh’s Hospital. In this role, she led the introduction of the Clinical Educator position, enhancing staff training, professional development, and overall quality of care. She later moved into a central leadership role as Deputy Director for Nursing, where she oversaw patient safety initiatives and led the introduction of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) across the organisation. Liz subsequently returned to St Hugh’s Hospital as Hospital Director.

Liz is deeply passionate about patient safety, human factors, and continuous improvement in healthcare. In her current role as Clinic Director in Sheffield, she is committed to creating a culture of safety, professionalism, and compassionate care for both patients and staff.