Amy Notschild: The CHEC Story, From Passion to Purpose Post Date : September 30, 2025 Career , News 5 minutes read Amy Notschild, Hospital Manager at CHEC’s Stevenage and Watford sites, has built a career around her passion for healthcare, a journey that began with a part-time job as a teenager and has culminated in her managing two of CHECs busiest sites. In a recent interview, Amy shared her remarkable story, highlighting her love for helping patients and her pride in what CHEC has achieved for local communities. The Journey: From GP Surgery to Hospital Manager Amy’s career path is a testament to the power of commitment and a clear sense of purpose. Her journey began with a part-time job in a GP surgery while she was still at school, a role she maintained through her undergraduate and master’s degrees. “I’ve always been a worker,” she says, and it was this early experience that cemented her love for healthcare. She admits she initially thought about becoming a PE teacher, a nod to her love for sports education, but her time in the GP surgery changed her mind. “I realised that I loved the NHS and I loved that job,” she explains. This early exposure to patient care fuelled her passion, leading her to pursue a master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology. She found that her studies and her work “really complimented each other,” giving her a deeper understanding of the “physiological understanding of the things that were actually happening.” After gaining experience in private healthcare, Amy found herself missing the direct impact of working with NHS patients. “I really missed that feeling of helping NHS patients, because they really need us, it’s a bit more rewarding, a bit more satisfying than it was during the private assessments,” she reveals. The opportunity to become a Hospital Manager at a brand new CHEC hospital in her hometown of Stevenage was, for her, the perfect next step. The CHEC Experience: Rapid Growth and Community Impact Joining CHEC was a homecoming for Amy, both professionally and personally. “This is perfect,” she says. “I can use the skills I have learned, particularly as a clinic manager at Nuffield; management skills, compliance skills, and CQC readiness, but on a bigger scale.” She was instrumental in the mobilisation of the new Stevenage hospital, working to “get it right for the people of Stevenage.” The hospital, which opened in April 2023, was an immediate success. “I was surprised how busy CHEC Stevenage got so quickly,” Amy recalls. “It showed that the local community really needed a healthcare provider like CHEC.” The growth has been nothing short of incredible. In its second year, CHEC Stevenage saw “over 24,000 appointments,” a figure Amy describes as “incredible for a hospital only two years in operation.” This success led to her taking on the additional role of Hospital Manager at CHEC Watford, which is the busiest in CHECs 35+ hospitals. Amy credits her experience at Stevenage for giving her the confidence to take on the new challenge. “I can’t say how much personally I’ve learned and grown,” she says, attributing this growth to the “volume of patients and appointments that we have” and the “diversity of the staff.” A Family Atmosphere and a Commitment to Learning Amy is keen to highlight the people who make CHEC what it is. She describes a “family” atmosphere where staff are supported and encouraged to grow. She is incredibly proud of her team’s low turnover, noting that people “typically have people come and stay and move on for career progressing reasons.” Amy’s passion for her work is palpable, particularly when she talks about patient feedback. “I absolutely love seeing the patients every day,” she says. She finds it particularly rewarding when patients go out of their way to offer positive feedback. “Hearing all the positive stuff is so rewarding and it’s exactly what I was looking for coming out of private healthcare, which is fantastic,” she explains. For Amy, the opportunity to serve her local community is especially meaningful. “We’re based in the town centre, which is where I used to go as a kid with my friends, I’ve also been very blessed to have supportive staff,” she adds. She believes that CHEC is “changing people’s lives” and finds it “really fantastic” that friends and family members have been referred to the hospital. Looking ahead, Amy’s focus is on maintaining high standards and continuing to develop services. She hopes to grow the Gastroenterology service at Stevenage and continue to offer staff the chance to “learn and cross train if possible,” with the ultimate goal of providing “quicker access to healthcare for our local people.” Amy’s story is a powerful reflection of CHEC’s mission: to provide high-quality, accessible healthcare with a personal touch. Her passion for her work and her dedication to her community are clear, making her a true embodiment of the CHEC ethos.