Reconnect with Zohreh Palmer
Born in Iran, Zohreh Palmer arrived in the UK in 1978 after completing her national service. She trained in nursing and, once qualified, spent a year working in the NHS before moving to London to join the independent sector. Here she specialised in burns and plastics and progressed to Deputy Director of Nursing.
In 2013, Zohreh made a bold career change, returning to study as a therapist alongside training in transformation coaching. Shortly afterwards, she was offered the opportunity as General Manager, leading the opening of a new outpatient and diagnostic centre at Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in the Harley Street Health District.
She felt an instant connection with the team, whose drive to successfully launch the facility fuelled her excitement and ambition. Supported by her managers and in collaboration with colleagues across the Trust, she overcame challenges and helped shape the facility’s design, planning, operations, and workforce from the ground up. Determined to create a centre of excellence, she focused on delivering a seamless patient experience from the moment patients walked through the door.
The state-of-the-art outpatient and diagnostic centre at 77–78 Wimpole Street opened in July 2016 and has since expanded across 3 buildings. It now offers a wide range of specialist adult services as part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, attracting leading clinicians as well as local and international patients.
Zohreh explains, “I have lots of different highlights. Every time you achieve something, it becomes a highlight: when I finished my training, when I completed my specialty, when I became deputy director of nursing, making a change, leaving a career and trying something new. But I would say Wimpole Street was where I was meant to be. This was definitely the highlight of my career, without a shadow of a doubt.”
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