A community interest company, offering support to those working in primary care in the East of England.
About Akeso Coaching Network
Akeso Coaching Network is a Community Interest Company, offering support to those working in primary care in the East of England.
Akeso was established in 2012 offering coaching to GPs, since then we have grown and offer support to all working in primary care in the areas where we are commissioned.
Akeso offers
1:1 coaching
Coach training
Group and Team coaching
Action Learning Sets
not-for-profit
Akeso is a not-for-profit organisation run by experienced healthcare professionals. We have a Board of Directors which is supported by an Operational Group with wide ranging skills and expertise.
hand-picked coaches
We have hand-picked our coaches and coaching supervisors. As part of our quality assurance, we ensure that all of our coaches have annual peer reviews, attend both in house and external continuing professional development and have coaching supervision with one of our accredited coaching supervisors.
quality service
We are conscious of the need to offer great value for money, whilst meeting your expectation of being a values-based company. We aim to provide services which are demonstrably of excellent quality
Akeso would be pleased to discuss any support we could offer to your workforce. Please contact us on office@akeso.org.uk
Who we are
DIRECTORS
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Sarah Rann
FOUNDER
Sarah Rann was a GP in Cambridge for many years, involved in education and professional standards. Lately worked for HEE and NHSE. She established Akeso in 2012 with her colleague Ruth Bastable, recognising the need to support colleagues using coaching techniques as appraisal was introduced. Sarah now also works with the Cameron Fund as a trustee supporting GPs in financial distress, and her local village chairing a charity providing grant and 53 Almshouses (21 new homes completed in 2023).
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Jackie Campbell
COMPANY SECRETARY
After a varied career running various different businesses, including pubs and restaurants Jackie Campbell moved into the NHS, where she worked for over twenty years. Jackie’s last role was working with Sarah when she was the Controlled Drug Accountable Officer for the East of England; She agreed to assist with Akeso and now manages the network.
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Sarah Whiteman
Sarah Whiteman trained as a GP in the RAF and always enjoyed a portfolio career. Currently Sarah is the Chief Medical Director for Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care System. In the past she worked with the GMC as a Case Examiner, Expert and Performance Assessor, with HEE as an Associate Postgraduate Dean and the Police Service as a Forensic Medical Examiner. Sarah has been a Medical Director for over 10 years and particularly valued her time in Jersey working with Primary Care.
Coaching has formed an important part of Sarah’s life for a number of years and she is in the process of completing a Diploma. Sarah has been a director with AKESO for a year and likes to support people in doing things differently in order to achieve alternative outcomes.
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Peter Bailey
Peter Bailey is a qualified executive and senior level coach and mentor. His background is general practice. He was a GP principal between 1984 and 2012. He has held senior roles in the Local Medical Committee and in the Performance Management team of NHS England. He has been coaching with Akeso since 2012 and has worked with NHS Practitioner Health since 2018, (supporting NHS senior staff who refer themselves seeking help with mental health issues). He has extensive supervision experience in each of these roles. His coaching and supervision style is narrative-based and solution-focused, combining his experience as a doctor and as a coach, aiding his supervisees in increasing their self-awareness in the service of their clients.
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Nish Manek
Nish Manek is a newly qualified GP in Cambridge, and also has a role in the Primary Care Team for NHS England.
She co-founded a free national leadership programme for new GPs entitled 'Next Generation GP', which has now trained over 3000 emerging GP leaders across the UK and Australia. In 2018 she was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours for her contribution to GP leadership development.
She has found coaching to be pivotal in her career so far, and is passionate about making this opportunity accessible to as many other primary care staff as possible.
What our clients say about us
Akeso welcomes feedback from all who undertake coaching through the Akeso Coaching Network. Below is a small selection of comments received.
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The coach was so approachable, striking the right balance between getting me to think of the answers myself, but guiding me in the right direction. She is an asset to the service.
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It was extremely useful to carve out some time to reflect and talk about how I can improve my own wellbeing. The coach is a very engaged listener and is able to tease out a lot of my thoughts and sometimes unconscious ones. She is interactive about what I want to get out of the sessions and adapts depending on my (sometimes changing!) needs.
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We established rapport immediately. The coach asked only relevant and sensible questions. He made me feel listened to and this lifted my mood, which has not been great lately. Furthermore, the advice he offered was relevant and useful.
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I have found the sessions hugely helpful to date and really thank my coach for her time. My coach tailor made the session according to my needs. It was good to have set goals in the beginning.
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My coach was really positive and set positive and achievable strategies; I think this will be extremely helpful for my own personal "care" in the future.
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My coach is a skilful listener and knows both when to challenge and how to do it. As a result, there were a few "lightbulb" moments that I have not achieved by personal reflection.
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My coach was patient, kind and knowledgeable. I felt she understood how to navigate being a portfolio GP and mother which suited my needs. I felt she really listened to the dilemmas I was facing and it was useful to explore other perspectives. It was helpful to be given small tasks that I was held to account to complete by following sessions
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My coach was excellent in helping me dive deep and figure out answers/strategies to start the process of mapping out my career and I'm looking forward to working with her over the next 6 sessions! Thank you!
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As a result of coaching I am doing a Fellowship that I would otherwise not have had the drive or confidence to do.
"I would like to thank my coach very much. She was validating and encouraging at every step and helped me to envisage myself as a leader and be more bold in my career aspirations and decisions!"
AKESO CLIENT