The highly coveted Practice Manager of the Year Award 2025 has been scooped by Caitlin Clarke – for a second time.
Ms Clarke (pictured second from left), who is business Manager at the Castle Partnership, Norwich as well as managing partner at Fleggburgh Surgery, Great Yarmouth last picked up the prize in 2023.
She was presented with the 2025 trophy by comedian Suzi Ruffell at the 17th General Practice Awards, held last week in London to celebrate excellence in primary care and which was attended by more than 650 guests.
Ms Clarke beat off competition from five other finalists and was described as an ‘exceptional business manager’. Her leadership helped the Castle Partnership significantly improve patient access (queries can be submitted any time via a 24/7 online contact system while telephone wait times have been cut to under two minutes); and boost staff morale and retention. Ms Clarke also spearheaded the development of a dedicated home visiting team that provides care for housebound and vulnerable patients across the PCN’s five practices.
She told Management in Practice she felt ‘grateful’ to win the award for a second time.
‘I’ve had a really difficult year this year and my colleagues have been amazing. I feel like they should all be winning an award. I’m really grateful.’
She added: ‘I really enjoy my job and love being a practice manager. I think if you don’t enjoy it, you shouldn’t be doing it. Some of the biggest challenges practice management faces are probably fatigue because of workload and ensuring care is delivered well. We are really lucky. We have really lovely reviews, and patients seem to engage with us.’
The other finalists in the Practice Manager of the Year award, sponsored by General Practice Solutions, were Muhammad Ahmed, group business manager, North Trafford Group Practice, Manchester; Tracey Clarke, practice manager, Magdalen Medical Practice, Norwich; Kate Mansi, practice manager, Wokingham Medical Centre, Wokingham and Modality Wokingham PCN; Nicola Rice, senior practice lead, NPC Ponteland, Newcastle upon Tyne; and Scott Ridley, practice manager partner at the Harefield Practice, Middlesex
Meanwhile, Maxine Paget, reception manager at the Lodge Health Partnership in Hertfordshire won Receptionist of the Year.
Management in Practice congratulates all the winners and those shortlisted in all 22 categories of the awards, which aim to celebrate innovation and dedication within primary care.
