People behind the Partnership – Heidi Burn
Published: 11 February 2026
One Wolverhampton is delivering a neighbourhood health approach designed to bring care closer to home and reduce health inequalities across the city.
Supporting this work is Heidi Burn, who is the Coach for Neighbourhood Health, alongside her role as Deputy Head of Programmes and Transformation at One Wolverhampton.
Heidi brings a wealth of experience across health and social care, spanning frontline clinical practice, leadership, transformation and integrated working. Her career began after leaving school, working in a care home before moving into the NHS as a Healthcare Assistant. These early roles gave her a strong understanding of people’s lived experiences and the challenges many face when accessing services.
“Those early roles really shaped how I see health and care,” she explains. “They gave me an understanding of people’s lives long before they ever reach formal services.”
At 21, Heidi trained as a podiatrist and went on to work within the NHS for more than a decade. During this time, she progressed from a Junior Clinician to Team Leader, completed a Master’s degree in biomechanics and took on the role of Head of Podiatry. Much of her clinical career was spent working with vulnerable populations and communities experiencing high levels of deprivation.
Her commitment to neighbourhood-based care was further strengthened during her time living in Australia, where she worked as a podiatrist before becoming an Ambulatory Care Manager within a rural community health service. In this role, Heidi led a large multidisciplinary team working across community nursing, therapy services, primary care, care services and the voluntary sector.
“What worked well was that everyone understood each other’s role and genuinely valued it,” she says. “That made it much easier to work together, spot gaps and focus on what was right for the person, rather than the organisation.”
After returning to the UK, Heidi completed a psychology degree before joining One Wolverhampton in 2023 as a Project Manager focused on health inequalities. She progressed into the role of Deputy Head of Programmes and Transformation in 2024 and later took on a coaching role supporting neighbourhood teams.
As Coach for Neighbourhood Health, Heidi supports professionals across health, care and the voluntary sector to build strong relationships, develop shared understanding and embed new ways of working that keep people at the centre.
“This role is really about hearts and minds,” she explains. “It’s about bringing people together, helping them understand each other’s value and keeping the focus on the person using services.”
Heidi believes neighbourhood working plays a vital role in addressing health inequalities by ensuring people are not overlooked.
“Health inequalities often exist because people fall through the gaps,” she says. “If we really know our neighbourhoods and understand who has the greatest need, we can respond earlier and make a real difference.”
She also highlights the importance of the voluntary and community sector as equal partners in the development of neighbourhood teams, a key component of neighbourhood health.
“The voluntary and community sector are absolutely integral to neighbourhood teams. They work proactively with people and communities, preventing issues from escalating into health concerns.”
For Heidi, neighbourhood health is about understanding the wider factors that shape people’s lives, from housing and education to social connection and wellbeing, and working in partnership to respond effectively.
“This isn’t just about services,” she adds. “It’s about working together to support people in a way that makes sense for their lives and their communities.”