This week Emma speaks to Professor Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard, who is a GP and the national chief medical officer in New Zealand.

Helen took on her new role as chief medical officer six months ago, however many UK doctors will know her from her previous roles as chair of the Royal College of GPs, a post she held from between 2016 and 2019 and as chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges during the pandemic from 2020 to 2023. Before her move to New Zealand she was also a GP partner at a practice in Staffordshire, a professor of GP Education at the University of Birmingham and a member of the NHS England board.

In this conversation Helen explains what prompted her to take such a big step in her career and move to the other side of the world, how the health system in New Zealand compares with the UK and what it’s like working as a frontline GP there. She also talks about the emotional impact of leaving her practice - and her life - in the UK.

Helen offers some practical tips to other GPs taking on leadership roles, and those considering moving to work in another country, based on her own experiences, and gives her view on the UK government’s decision to scrap NHS England.

This episode was presented by GPonline editor Emma Bower. It was produced by Czarina Deen.

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