Sharon Fernandez

Sharon has worked for the Hurley Group since April 2016. For the past decade, she has served as Director of Unscheduled Care, leading services across Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs) and GP Out of Hours. With this role now concluded, Sharon continues to work on other projects.

In 2019, Sharon became the Director of the Primary Care Gambling Service (PCGS) and Strategic Nurse Lead, a role she continues to lead. The PCGS was established with two key aims:

• To create a GP-led, multidisciplinary treatment service for people experiencing gambling-related harm.
• To raise awareness and strengthen the responsiveness of the Primary Care workforce.

Since its inception, the PCGS has grown from a local initiative into a nationally recognised service, now seeing between 800 and 1000 patients annually. Sitting within the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN), it bridges the gap between voluntary sector services and NHS provision.

Sharon is committed to Clinical Governance and plays an active role within the Hurley Clinical Governance Group. Through her work with the PCGS, she also represents the service on several strategic boards across the country, influencing policy and service development at the national level.

As a registered nurse with over 42 years of experience, Sharon brings a wealth of clinical expertise and strategic leadership. She has provided a broad nursing perspective across the Hurley Group, helping to shape and strengthen services at both operational and strategic levels.

Her career includes several high-profile leadership and nursing roles:

• Transplant Co-ordinator, King’s College Hospital
• Director of Nursing, NHS Direct
• Lead Nurse, Community Services, Lewisham PCT
• Deputy Head of Primary Care, NHS England