A Newham GP who won a prestigious national award is looking forward to promoting the borough as “a great place to live and work” in 2020.
Dr Farzana Hussain, senior partner at the Project Surgery in Plaistow, was named GP of the year at the 2019 General Practice Awards, which she considered a victory for Newham and recognition of the passion of her staff.
A GP in Newham for 18 years, Dr Hussain said: "I want to use this platform to raise the profile of Newham nationally and show that it is a really great place to come to live and work and make a difference to people's lives.
"The borough has its health challenges but it's great to have some good news and I honestly couldn't think of working or living anywhere else."
The Project Surgery, which was established in 2003, serves 4,500 patients.
Dr Hussain has overcome tragedy and manages the busy practice on her own after the sudden death of her senior partner Petre Jones six years ago.
She said: "Petre was such an inspiration to me as a colleague and a mentor.
"He was a training GP and when we lost him it was not just a tragedy for our practice but for the whole of Newham.
"When he died, I carried on the practice on my own through difficult times - for seven months I was the only GP here at all - because our patients and community needed us."
Dr Hussain is also a Newham Healthcare Collaborative board director, Newham 1 Primary Care Network clinical director; National Association of Primary Care non-executive director and Newham Local Medical Committee member.
She passes on her expertise as a GP trainer and appraiser, coach and medical school tutor.
The award judges noted Dr Hussain's dedication to her patients, colleagues and community.
They praised her efforts driving quality improvement and streamlining appointment processes, as well as her work with pharmacists to free up GP time.
Dr Hussain added: "I also see the award as a victory for frontline GPs.
"It shows that while big system change is important, GPs can make a huge difference - not just in treating patients, but innovating in how they care for people and work with other parts of the NHS."
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