Susan Bennett - Core Member

Sue Bennett, MPhil, took early retirement from the NHS 14 years ago due to spinal problems. She is currently a lay member of NICE Interventional Procedures Advisory Committee, and Pilot Patient Safety Advisory Committee. Sue is also a trustee of Incontact, an organisation for people with bladder and/or bowel dysfunction and a member of Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation (RADAR).  Sue has previously been a member of the NHS Information Authority Public Reference Group and was a member of the NICE Faecal Incontinence Guideline Development Group. Her main interests include disability equality particularly in relation to health issues and prevention of HCAI both in acute and community settings.

Arlene Blanchard - Core Member

 David Britt - Core Member

On leaving school David spent several years working in biomedical science at two London Teaching Hospitals, mainly in bacteriology. A growing interest in education caused him to undertake teacher training where after he taught in secondary and then Further and Higher Education institutions in the UK and overseas. Much of the teaching was of healthcare professionals. David also engaged in research in aspects of medical and veterinary microbiology and parasitology.

Following the abrupt curtailment of an appointment at Kuwait University, David returned to England and began working for the British Council as Health Sciences Consultant, furthering an interest in International Health. To this day he continues as an external advisor to the Council mainly recommending placements for overseas scholarship students.

In 1997 David suffered a stroke and in the aftermath became interested in service user involvement in the NHS. Voluntary activity led to a post as part-time Research Governance Administrator at a Liverpool NHS Tertiary Centre, a post he relinquished last October.
 

 Maria Cann - Core Member

Maria is a founding member of the charity MRSA Action UK which was formed in October 2005 after a group of people had been brought together through being affected by MRSA. The mission of MRSA Action UK is to raise public awareness and to influence Government and healthcare providers in the fight to prevent MRSA and all healthcare infections.

Maria’s background is in coordinating and assessing consultations with service users, both in her charity work and experience in local government. She responded to the Department of Health on the regulation of “Action on Healthcare Associated Infections in England” and to the Healthcare Commission on “Developing the Annual Health Check”.

Maria takes part in and analyses surveys involving patients and people receiving services in social care and housing. She has worked in quality assurance roles and is involved as a stakeholder in the Department of Health’s work in the "Clean, Safe, Care Programme", and the design of patient information.

Maria is a member of the Healthcare Commission’s Expert Reference Group, assessing regulation in the Acute and Primary Care setting ensuring compliance with the Hygiene Code.

Maria is also involved in work informing National Patient Safety Agency’s "Patient Empowerment Programme", on research conducted by the Imperial College London, and welcomes the opportunity to peer-review research papers, and to become involved in further research work.
 

Richard Chidzik- Core Member - Richard is a Public Patient involvement Forum Member for INVOLVE.

Ronald Stephen Coley  - Core Member

Olivia Freeman - Core Member

Olivia is a Library & Information Researcher & Academic and member of the GP's Patient's Group and PPI Forum.

Graham Tanner - Core Member

Graham is a retired local authority welfare officer with a large amount of experience of working with people in respect of their health, social welfare and the economic impacts of adverse health.

As a member of the National Concern for Healthcare Infections (NCHI) he works in collaboration with a number of government agencies (including the NHS) with an objective of improving healthcare environments, therapies and prevention of disease.

As a member of NCHI Graham has been involved in a number of research initiatives designed to combat the problems of healthcare infections. He has been involved in many bids for research funding including proposals submitted to the Safe & Optimal Antimicrobial Programme and the Big Lottery. He is also involved in the European BURDEN Project and was involved in bids for UKCRC Translational Infection Research Initiative being part of consortia bids.

Graham was involved in the research and editing of the publication “MRSA: Separating Fact from Fiction.” This document was compiled by an MRSA working group comprised of leading academics from multi-disciplinary backgrounds and has been circulated throughout the healthcare sectors.

As a member of IAPO (International Alliance of Patients Organisations) Graham has assisted in the development of a Patient Safety Toolkit and was collectively responsible for the editing of this document which has been distributed on an international basis. He is also involved in the World Alliance for Patient “Patients for Patients’ Safety” initiative and is committed to the principles of the London Declaration.

Finally, Graham has been selected as a “Patient Champion” for his local Strategic Health Authority area to work in collaboration with healthcare professionals to improve patient safety.

Carol Webley-Brown - Core Member

Amani Alnim - Associate Member

Cheryl Atkins - Associate Member

Sally Bailey - Associate Member  

Sarah Jane Besser - Associate Member

Eiddwen Thomas - Associate Member