In the fifth episode of The Business of Healthcare Podcast – How It Got Commissioned series, Tara is joined by Dr Faris Al-Ramadani, GP Partner and former Primary Care Network Clinical Director, to explore how a locally developed mental health service moved from frontline problem to a working, commissionable model during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As demand for mental health support rapidly increased, general practice teams were seeing patients struggle to access timely care, with long waiting lists and practical barriers preventing many from engaging with existing services. Rather than waiting for a traditional commissioning process, Faris and colleagues identified an opportunity to use the resources already available within primary care to design a new approach.

The conversation explores how the PCN brought together trainee psychological therapists, digital tools and local partners to create a coordinated mental health hub, simplifying referral pathways and reducing friction for patients. By piloting solutions, learning through iteration and demonstrating measurable impact, the team developed a model that improved access while supporting wider system priorities.

Tara and Faris also discuss the realities of developing services without guaranteed funding, the importance of collaboration and stakeholder alignment, and what this experience tells us about the future of integrated neighbourhood working.

In this episode, they explore:

• Identifying unmet need through frontline clinical experience

• Developing services without traditional commissioning routes

• Using existing workforce and digital solutions to unlock capacity

• Building a coordinated hub model to simplify patient journeys

• The role of collaboration across primary care and system partners

• Learning through iteration and adapting when models don't work first time

• Demonstrating impact to support sustainability and future funding conversations

Connect with Faris Al-Ramadani via LinkedIn here.

In this episode of The Business of Healthcare Podcast – How It Got Commissioned, Tara is joined by Rukshana Kapasi, Director of Health at Barnardo's, the UK's largest children's charity.

Rukshana shares the story behind a short-term pilot that placed family support workers in A&E to reduce avoidable and repeat attendances by children and young people. What began as a three month, winter-pressures pilot went on to generate compelling evidence, and ultimately informed a national NHS England rollout across seven regions.

This conversation is a practical, honest look at commissioning outside the usual tendering routes, the power of VCSE partnerships, and why looking beyond traditional NHS funding streams matters more than ever.

In this episode, we explore:

• The risks and realities of short term pilots, and when they're worth taking

• Why evidence, outcomes, and confidence data mattered more than access alone

• The importance of commissioner relationships and senior sponsorship

• Why starting small, testing, and learning can lead to scalable change

Rukshana also shares practical advice for anyone trying to get an idea commissioned that doesn't neatly fit an existing pathway, including why you shouldn't wait for "perfect" data before starting conversations.

Connect with Rukshana Kapasi here.

• The three core problems the service was designed to solve:
• How early involvement of commissioners shaped the business case
• The difference between Enhanced Access and Same Day Access
• Why employing local GPs was critical to continuity, quality, and workforce retention
• How data, utilisation, and patient feedback strengthened the case for ongoing funding
• Why access alone isn't enough, and how continuity of care fits into the model
• Top advice for leaders looking to commission similar services

In this episode of The Business of Healthcare Podcast – How It Got Commissioned, Tara is joined by Alison Gardiner, Founder of Born Digital Health and Co-Founder & CEO of Sleepstation, a digital health service focused on improving sleep at scale across the NHS.

Alison shares the real story behind how Sleepstation was commissioned, scaled, and sustained through major system change, offering practical insight into what commissioners look for, how digital services succeed at scale, and why understanding budgets and context is critical.

This episode is about:

• How Sleepstation moved from a local project to national and regional commissioning

• Why digital does not automatically mean scalable

• Understanding NHS budgets and the percentage you're really asking for

• Working in partnership rather than relying solely on tenders

• Navigating system change, competition, and shifting commissioning structures

• The role of data, outcomes, and real-world impact beyond access

• Why many pilots fail to scale, and how to avoid getting stuck there

Alison shares openly what worked, what didn't, and what she's learned from delivering digital services at significant scale within primary care and wider NHS systems.

If you're building, commissioning, or supporting digital health innovation, this episode offers grounded, experience-led insight into how services really get commissioned, and sustained, in practice.

Visit the Sleepstation website

Connect with Alison Gardiner on LinkedIn

In this episode of The Business of Healthcare Podcast – How It Got Commissioned, we speak with Dr Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, CEO and Founder of Patients Know Best, about the commissioning and rollout of personal health records in Northwest London.

Mohammad shares insights on the unique challenges of the tender process, the importance of patient consent, and navigating negotiations with key stakeholders.

We also explore the role of G-Cloud as a procurement framework and the lessons learned from rapid growth and deployment in the healthcare sector, highlighting how innovation and collaboration drive meaningful change in healthcar

In this episode, we explore:

• How a chance conversation led to a region-wide commissioning opportunity

• What the G-Cloud framework is, and why it can be a commissioning "superpower"

• The importance of price transparency

• The challenges of rapid growth, scale, and cash flow after winning a contract

• Common mistakes founders make, and what Mohammad would do differently

• Why understanding context and organisational culture matters as much as the contract itself

• Mohammad's top advice for leaders trying to get services commissioned outside traditional routes

This conversation offers honest reflections, practical insights, and valuable lessons for anyone working in healthcare innovation, commissioning, primary care leadership, or system transformation.

Visit the Patients Know Best Website here or connect with Mohammad Al-Ubaydli directly here.

In this episode of The Business of Healthcare Podcast, Tara explores the importance of understanding the context in which we work, and why context shapes how people think, act, and respond to change.

Drawing on personal experience in leadership and consultancy, Tara reflects on why taking time to understand different perspectives has been central to her work for over a decade. She explains how policy, system-level decisions, organisational pressures, and personal experiences all influence behaviour, and why ignoring this context can make collaboration harder than it needs to be.

This episode encourages listeners to approach their work with curiosity rather than judgement, to listen more deeply to opposing views, and to recognise that effective leadership is rooted in understanding people's realities, not just strategy or policy.

Key Takeaways

• Why understanding context is critical to leadership and collaboration

• Why the same policy or programme lands differently in different places

• The importance of curiosity over judgement when working with others

• How understanding opposing views strengthens, rather than weakens, your own position

• Why context affects how people receive messages, priorities, and change agendas

• The risks of leading with fear rather than relevance

• How in-person relationships can deepen trust and understanding

• Questions to ask yourself as you move into 2026 about your own context and perspective

What's coming next

Tara introduces the upcoming podcast and YouTube series - How It Got Commissioned, featuring conversations with health and care leaders who successfully got services commissioned by doing things differently, often outside traditional procurement routes.

The series explores:

• How services were commissioned within specific contexts

• What challenges leaders faced

• What lessons can be applied elsewhere, even when contexts differ

In this first episode of 2026, Tara opens the year with a very different kind of conversation, and marks the launch of The Business of Healthcare Podcast on YouTube.

This episode is for anyone who isn't entering the new year with "New Year, New Me" energy, particularly those who have experienced loss, uncertainty, or significant change. Tara shares her own reflections and the tools that are helping her move into 2026 with steadiness, self compassion, and intention, rather than pressure or productivity goals.

This is a personal episode, focused less on work and more on wellbeing, mindset, and navigating difficult seasons while continuing to show up in life and leadership.

Key Takeaways

• How to organise your energy rather than chasing productivity

• How to use simple planning tools to reduce overwhelm

• Moving your body for mental wellbeing, not performance

• Being kind to yourself

• Focusing on setting emotional boundaries and protecting your peace

• The reminder that multiple things can be true at the same time

• Giving yourself permission to change your mind, pace, or priorities

Watch Olivia Jenkins 'My Exact Framework to Crush Your 2026 Goals - The System I Use Every Year' here.