Cara McDonagh has taken up her new role this week as the first ever director of communications at the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN).
She joins from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), where she was director of communications and people before leaving last month.
McDonagh sits on the IHPN’s senior management team and reports to chief executive David Hare in her new role at the private health trade body.
“With record levels of demand for private healthcare and an increasing role for the sector in delivering NHS-funded services, IHPN has grown significantly in recent years,” the trade body stated.
“The new director of communications post will look to build on this growth and work to further increase the network’s comms activity and media presence as it supports its members to play an even greater role in the UK’s healthcare system,” it added.
The IHPN represents 120 organisations including the likes of Bupa, Nuffield Health, and Specsavers.
Hare described McDonagh as a “fantastic addition to the IHPN team”. Her “valuable insight and experience will be a real asset to our work in promoting the sector’s increasingly important contribution to UK healthcare,” he said.
“I look forward to working with Cara to ensure IHPN continues to be the strongest possible advocate for our members so that the safe, high quality and innovative services delivered by independent healthcare providers can be accessed by as many people as possible,” Hare added.
McDonagh has worked in comms for more than 25 years, mostly in the health sector. Prior to joining RCSLT in 2022 she spent five years at NHS England, where she was head of communications and engagement for primary care. Other previous positions have included head of communications at the NHS Confederation, and head of new media at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Commenting on her new role, she told In.Comms: “I’m delighted to be joining IHPN at such a pivotal time for the independent healthcare sector. With growing demand and an ever-greater role in supporting the NHS, there’s a real opportunity to tell a stronger story about the contribution IHPN members make to the UK’s health system.”
McDonagh added: “I’m excited to build on the excellent work already underway and to help amplify the voice of this diverse and dynamic sector.”