Nicola Forshaw is CEO of Northern Healthcare, a healthcare brand and specialist provider of mental health and social care services.
With more than 35 years’ experience across health and social care, her career has taken her from an early background in frontline social care into senior executive positions, including Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Lifeways. She has worked across children’s and adult services, supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, sensory impairments and mental health diagnoses.
After joining Northern Healthcare as CEO in March 2024, she shares how her career developed, what continues to motivate her and what she has learned along the way…
How did you first get into your industry?
One of the experiences that really shaped the direction of my career was working with a small, registered charity set up by a pioneering group of parents supporting their children and each other after their children were born with congenital or acquired disabilities.
It was a truly humbling experience. Those young people and their families taught me so much about navigating health and social care systems and overcoming obstacles with courage and dignity. Together, we achieved a huge amount, including establishing one of the first children’s disability resource centres. I learned very early on that the best solutions come from listening to people’s lived experiences and working with them to find approaches that genuinely make a difference.
From there, my career developed through roles across children’s and adult services, regulation and operational leadership. I worked at the General Medical Council, Action for Children and The SLC Group before joining Lifeways, where I progressed through a number of senior leadership roles.
It’s been an unplanned doorway into a career that has given me the opportunity to meet and learn from so many inspiring people.
I learnt early on that you need a good team around you, dedicated and talented people who can drive success and growth of essential services. Success is never the work of one person; it’s about having the right people and skills around you.
What do you love about your job?
For me, it’s the people and the opportunity to make a genuine difference. Seeing someone living their best life, overcoming adversity, recovering, regaining independence, improving their health and mental wellbeing or reaching a personal goal is incredibly rewarding. That’s what makes working in this sector so special. Sometimes it’s the smallest thing, or a simple act of kindness, that produces the best results for an individual.
I see that first-hand when I visit our services and see our frontline colleagues engaging wholeheartedly with the people we support. Knowing that the work we do can have such a meaningful impact is a real privilege.
I also love working with talented people. Health and social care is full of compassionate, dedicated people who go above and beyond every day, and being part of teams with that shared purpose continues to motivate me. I believe that values, focus on quality and effective service delivery drives successful businesses to thrive and succeed.
Who – or what – has inspired you in your career?
The people and families I’ve worked alongside have probably been my greatest inspiration.
The families I worked with early in my career, particularly those involved in the parent-led charity, had an enormous impact on me. Their courage, generosity of spirit and determination to improve things for their children have stayed with me throughout my career.
There have been times when I’ve faltered or found things difficult, and remembering those families and what they achieved has helped me find solutions and carry on. I was also lucky early on to work within an excellent organisation and alongside an inspiring Director who encouraged me to personally develop, access further training and who challenged me to build my career alongside raising my family.
Building successful businesses and services is a key driver for me. I’m also continually inspired by colleagues. I’ve been fortunate to work alongside some incredibly talented people throughout my career.
At Northern Healthcare, I was impressed from day one by the drive, compassion and talent within the organisation. People genuinely care about what they do and want to drive best practice and quality.
That shared sense of purpose is incredibly motivating and has driven the success of our business.
What are the biggest challenges about your job?
Health and social care is a complex sector, and there are challenges at every level. Successive governments have grappled to sustain and deliver social care and that challenge continues. It will be interesting to see how the new leadership under Andy Burnham navigates this complex area.
We’re seeing increasing demand, particularly in mental health, alongside workforce shortages, rising costs and financial pressures. For organisations, the challenge is finding ways to continue delivering high-quality, person-centred support while adapting to those pressures.
I think the answer is partly about being willing to innovate. We need to embrace technology and data, invest in our people, work collaboratively with commissioners and partners and maintain a really strong focus on quality and governance.
We also need to make sure funding is realistic. The sector needs to work in partnership with government and commissioners to ensure adequate funding is in place to deliver the support people need, in the right place and at the right time.
There are also significant opportunities. I would like to see more innovative, community-based services that help people live independently and reduce reliance on hospital care. For example, the development of a dedicated ‘A&E equivalent’ for people experiencing a mental health crisis could provide rapid assessment, short-term stabilisation and access to health, housing and social care support without defaulting to hospital admission.
Integrated mental health and social care pathways could help more people receive the right support in the least restrictive environment, while reducing pressure on emergency departments and avoiding unnecessary inpatient admissions.
What skills have been the most crucial to you succeeding in your career so far?
Resilience, listening and the ability to build strong relationships have all been incredibly important.
I’ve worked through acquisitions, restructures, organisational change and the COVID-19 pandemic, so being able to remain focused and find solutions when things are difficult has been essential.
I’ve also learned that you can’t lead effectively without listening and learning from people receiving services. I believe the best solutions come from understanding people’s lived experiences and learning from the expertise of my team.
As a CEO, I think you should share your knowledge, provide strong leadership and support, make difficult decision when necessary and find and nurture talent, but also recognise that you don’t have all the answers.
At Northern Healthcare, I work with our internal advisory group, which represents colleagues across different grades. Their openness, challenge, advice and ideas have continued to help us build the business.
I also think emotional intelligence, integrity and being approachable are really important. My team need to trust me to lead the business safely and effectively and to know that I have an open door.
Finally, I’m very focused on continuous improvement. We should always be asking ourselves what we can do better.
What was your first salary and what could someone getting into the industry expect to earn nowadays?
My career began many years ago, so the salary landscape has obviously changed considerably since then. I believe my starting salary was around £12,000, although that was some time ago and the sector has changed considerably since then. As you progress through your career, salary can vary significantly depending on the role, organisation, level of responsibility and size of the business. At CEO level, for example, salaries can range from around £120,000 upwards, with no fixed ceiling, while leadership roles within smaller charities and organisations may be at a lower level.
There are so many different career paths available within health and social care, and my own career has developed through a mixture of formal education, different roles and opportunities that arose along the way. I was also fortunate to be approached by two businesses I had worked for earlier in my career, who later offered me the opportunity to develop into senior roles they believed I could take forward.
You don’t necessarily have to know exactly where you want your career to go when you start. As you gain experience, take on new responsibilities and progress into more senior positions, there can also be opportunities for your earning potential to grow alongside your career. There is huge scope to develop within health and social care, whether you’re interested in frontline care, clinical roles, operations, quality, commercial functions or leadership. When you find the right opportunity to develop, you will know what is right for you.
What education or training would be most useful for someone looking to follow your career path?
There isn’t one particular qualification that prepares you for a career like mine. My own development has been a combination of formal education, professional training and, perhaps most importantly, experience.
I started with pre-registration midwifery training before completing a Post Graduate Certificate in Social Services Management at the University of Birmingham and later a Level 7 Diploma in Management. But I’ve learned just as much through the roles I’ve held.
Working across different parts of the sector has given me a broad understanding of health and social care, from frontline services and regulation through to operations, transformation and executive leadership.
I’d encourage anyone looking to progress to keep learning, take opportunities when they come along and be open to experiences that may not necessarily be part of the career plan you originally imagined.
What advice would you have for someone looking to follow your path?
Be brave and lean in. It can be challenging at times to build a career in health and social care, but it is so worthwhile. Where else do you get the opportunity to make such a difference and have the privilege of working with and learning from so many different people?
Take up the opportunities that come your way, be open and don’t forget to celebrate and enjoy every positive moment, however small. My own career wasn’t necessarily planned. It was an unplanned doorway that I’m incredibly glad I walked through. I’ve had the opportunity to grow my career, meet so many inspiring people and work in a sector where what you do can genuinely change people’s lives.
Working in health and social care and sharing people’s lives is a privilege. And don’t underestimate the importance of your values. For me, empathy, integrity, listening and continuous improvement have been fundamental throughout my career.
