
Building a Healthcare Business That Makes a Difference with Alena Duncan
From Scale Her Up: Female business stories and expert tips for business growth and success by Brenda Hector
April 8, 2026 · 33 min · Season 3 · Episode 145
About this episode
Alena Duncan discusses her journey in building NexEndo Healthcare and the challenges of operating in the healthcare industry.
In this episode of Scale Her Up , I’m joined by Alena Duncan , founder and Chief Executive and Operating Officer of NexEndo Healthcare . Alena shares the story behind building a clinical services company that supports both NHS and private patients, helping to reduce waiting times in endoscopy and other specialist services while keeping patient safety and clinical governance at the heart of everything. We talk about her journey from nursing into law, consultancy and then founding NexEndo Healthcare, as well as the realities of growing a business in a highly regulated and male-dominated industry. This is a fascinating conversation about leadership, persistence, communication, problem-solving and what it really takes to build a purpose-led healthcare business. In this episode, we cover: What NexEndo Healthcare does and how it supports NHS and private patients Why reducing waiting times in healthcare matters so much The challenge of marketing sensitive health services Alena’s journey from nursing to law to business ownership What she has learned about herself as a founder and leader Why communication has been a thread through her whole career The importance of trusted people around…
People in this episode
Host: Brenda Hector
Guest: Alena Duncan
Topics covered
- healthcare business
- entrepreneurship
- leadership
- patient safety
- regulation
- business growth
Keywords
- healthcare
- endoscopy
- waiting times
- business ownership
- communication
- regulation
- patient safety
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NexEndo Healthcare, NHS
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