Following a successful 30 year career as a Programme & Project Manager in both the public and private sectors, I retired in 2006 and now spend much of my time working for a number of charitable organisations. As a patient living with heart failure, I became a Heart Advocate for the British Heart Foundation and have been involved in many campaigns to raise awareness of the risks and causes of chronic heart disease. In 2013 I was involved as a Lay Assessor for the Keogh Review and now represent patients in the Care Quality Commission hospital inspections. I am a Patient Representative for the Complex & Invasive Cardiology Clinical Reference Group and am a member of the Eastern Academic Health Science Network Patient Safety Collaborative. A recent member of the ‘Q’ Community, I am keen to spread innovation and share best practice with the wider community. A member of the East of England Q Faculty, I have delivered several Improvement Projects on behalf of the Patient Reference Service User Groups. As part of an ongoing commitment in representing the patient, I attended the first Patient Leadership Programme, which was developed, jointly by National Voices and The Centre for Patient Leadership. I currently Chair the East of England Citizen’s Senate which aims to extend the Public Voice, representing patients with Long Term Conditions. In 2015 I was awarded the first ever Patient Leader Award by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) and last year, I was a finalist in Health Education England’s Leadership Awards. I am motivated by the excellent care I received following two heart attacks. I owe my survival to the selfless acts of so many in the NHS and I benefitted from an outstanding health service. I want to ensure that everybody has the opportunity that I had. I am passionate about using my experience as a patient to develop, improve and deliver the best possible outcomes.

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