public sector leader, researcher, writer, patient and advocate

Who
I am

Academic, health and care manager, consultant, volunteer, former charity trustee and chair, blogger and patient advocate - I wear a lot of hats (often at the same time!) Find out more about my career to date (including my CVs) here

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A white woman in her thirties with shoulder length wavy blonde hair stands in a botanical greenhouse. She is looking at the camera and smiling. She is wearing a mustard yellow coat and a chunky multicoloured scarf and holding a cream canvas tote bag.

what i do

A woman in her thirties with blonde wavy chin length hair is wearing a long pink floral dress. She is standing to one side of a projector screen giving a presentation. The presentation slide says "It's not just about contracts"

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Since 2020 I’ve been a health policy researcher in the Health Organisation, Policy and Economics (HOPE) group at the University of Manchester. My areas of interest include place-based health and care, Integrated Care Systems, commissioning, devolution, and governance and accountability. I’ve worked on reviews of Government policy and contributed to Select Committees and national reviews, as well as presenting at a range of conferences and events.
I have over a decade of management experience across a range of health and care organisations, including commissioning, acute and community care, local authorities, and national and regional bodies. I am experienced in leading the development and implementation of multi-agency strategies and business plans, running large PMOs, and overseeing robust and efficient corporate governance.
The combination of my strong programme management skills with the ability to quickly build positive and productive relationships makes me well suited to consultancy and interim work. I have previously been a Managing Consultant with an in-house NHS consultancy, leading service re-design projects and developing the support offer for cancer services across the NHS. I’ve also successfully fulfilled interim roles for NHS organisations and local government, including corporate governance and strategy and planning.
Always looking to develop my own skills and contribute to social causes I’m passionate about, I’ve undertaken a range of voluntary roles. This has included chairing the board of a national charity, offering coaching to women under-represented in leadership roles, and running one of the biggest Women’s Institutes in the country.
More recently, I have been adapting to living life with a chronic illness and disability - I’ve definitely quality tested a fair few health and social care services in the last two years! As someone with insider knowledge of the health and care system, I’m keen to reflect on my own experiences, what can be learnt from them, and how I can advocate for others and elevate patient voices. I’m delighted to sit on my local Expert by Experience Patient Group and be writing about life with ME over on Substack.