Council of Governors

As I have used and benefited from the NHS I am convinced that good communications are essential between patients and those within the health system and greater understanding will benefit both sides.

My experience includes being a member of the Integrated Care Board for Virtual Wards and working closely with the NHS through my current position as Founder/CEO of a charity that specialises in providing services for those living alone including carers.

My career was in Finance, listed stock exchange companies at senior level, and the disciplines of that profession become excellent tools when working closely with large conglomerates. I am committed to try and improve efficient productivity from those providing a service and this includes ensuring adequate protection is in place not only physical but including verbal attacks.

It is necessary to understand the situations that staff are working in and monitor the system whereby staff can notify and obtain satisfaction from any unpleasantness.

Though I am classified as a senior I still manage a 50 hour week and believe that having responsibility is a good reason to continue serving the public.

It is a great privilege to have been elected a governor, and I will do my best to promote the views of staff and service users throughout my term. 

I am the former Head of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Centre for Quality Improvement. I led the development of its quality networks and have visited and reviewed most specialist mental health services. I have also led national health service research and programme evaluation projects. I have authored/edited two books on clinical governance and an online training module series on quality in healthcare. 

I am also past president of the Royal Society of Medicine’s Quality in Healthcare Section and former Chair of the UK Health and Social Care Accreditation Forum. 

I have a keen interest in human rights and global health. I co-founded the Royal Society of Medicine’s Global Health Film Initiative and was a long-term member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' International Advisory Committee.

I have an abiding passion for health and equality. Historically, mental health, learning disability and neurodevelopmental services have not had parity with other services. I am committed to playing a part in developing services fit for the future. I have both professional skills and personal experience beneficial to being a governor.

Sussex Partnership serves the community when we are at our most vulnerable and I am keen to play a role as a public governor in steering those services.

I trained as a General Nurse and then as a Registered Mental Nurse in London during the 1980s. I have seen much change in the NHS and embrace learning and development. I have worked in hospital care, on the West Sussex Mental Healthline, as a specialist advisor in Further Education and in the Voluntary Sector.

My current role is within GP services for people who are homeless or insecurely housed. I have personal experience as a carer for a young person with a mental health issues and understand the tough challenges facing carers. My family also has lived experience of neurodivergence and learning disabilities. As a former local Councillor, I have well developed scrutiny and communication skills. I am experienced in committee work and a team player. I have training in Safeguarding, confidentiality, record keeping and data protection.

Since starting as a consultant psychiatrist in Chichester District in 1983 I have consistently wished to support the mental health of service users, their family carers and staff in their work. I believe this showed in how I worked in community psychiatry and addictions all through my career. I retired from the NHS in 2009 but continued part-time in addictions, and since 2016 in military psychiatry for a Portsmouth charity. Though I have now retired from active practice, my continued good health and interest in supporting the local community mean that I have time and energy for the role.

A drive to help the community by supporting those under greatest stress; a dislike of divisions in society; a continued wish to keep up to date professionally, particularly in areas like trauma-informed care, military mental health and joint working between agencies especially in mental health and substance misuse; and a strong interest in training everyone from service users, carers & volunteers to staff including medics in up-to-date models of care. My other community involvement e.g., leading a bid for full fibre broadband in our rural locality shows my broad community interest.

Without caring and committed yet dispassionate and balanced oversight, from a broad group of people dedicated to ensuring best care within available resource, any organisation risks becoming insular and developing too narrow a perspective on its work. A vigorous group of Governors should ensure the best (innovative yet safe) governance.

I have extensive experience as a parent carer of a daughter with multiple and complex needs. I also work in local authority children’s services, collecting and analysing data. I'm on the steering group of the disabled workers and carer’s network, raising awareness of invisible disabilities and the importance of reasonable adjustments, kindness and understanding in Brighton and Hove Council.

I'm a member of the Brighton and Hove Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Partnership Board, and carry out extensive analysis and reporting on special needs data on children and young people.

I was on the Sussex Partnership Lived Experience Advisory Panel for the measurement of quality of life in family carers of people with dementia, and was a consultant on the Time for Autism project. I was chair of Governors at Saltdean Primary school for seven years and prior to that I was on the Board of the Women’s Refuge Project (now RISE).

My commitment as a Carer Governor, is to hold leaders to account in improving services, systems, use of data and really understand the needs of the people we are here to support. This is especially important for those who are neurodiverse or have learning needs. I also share lived experience of what it is like to have a child 'in the system' and the transition to adult services. The system is currently not working for people who have medical, neurodiverse and mental health needs. Ultimately, we need to save lives and improve the quality of life for those living with mental health challenges.

I am a parent of a child who has used Sussex Partnership services for over seven years under CAHMS and now adult services. During those seven years, I have seen some of the best and worst the services have to offer; I am passionate about ensuring the best practices are celebrated and shared while highlighting the not-so-good practices to eradicate them.

The current system of accessing services during a mental crisis needs improving, and I will strive to fight for a better point of access for those in crisis.

I believe that the teams working in mental health are amazing people who need support to deliver the outstanding care they strive to achieve. With this in mind, I fully intend to be a force for positive change. 

Thank you for supporting me as your Carer Governor for East. Sussex. I have certainly felt the past three years has gone by very quickly and I am delighted to have been elected for another three year term.(2023-2026). During my time with SPFT I have worked tirelessly to voice the concerns at Board and Council meetings of the plight of Carers who are supporting loved ones afflicted with mental health. I understand the needs of Carers who face challenges each day, as I am supporting my own adult daughter who has schizophrenia, Autism and other complex needs.

I have developed my role outside the organization by training as an Authorised Representative in Healthwatch to better understand the needs of health services in East Sussex. I trained as an Expert by Experience (EBE) so that I could use my carer experience to ensure the needs of those with autism are being appropriately supported coming into mental health services. My EBE role has also led me to become involved in the development of a psychosis support group for families in East Sussex.

The next three years I intend to prioritise the following :

• Impact of CAMHS wait time on families
• Promoting safety of clinical areas for those with Autism and Learning Disability
• Highlighting the amazing role of Carers and ensuring they are supported and included.

I've had a neurological condition since I was young, but in the last 10 years I developed a mental health illness. During my hospitalisation I saw and experienced things that needed to be addressed, and I have also seen and experienced the things that helped.

I wish to assist approaching the bad things as well as ensuring the approach for the good things should be recognised. 

After a lot of recovery, hard work and effort I am now back in society and I really do want to give back. As you will all know, addressing mental health is terribly hard work for every party involved. be that the patient, the family, the friends or carers. But also we should not forget the staff who are involved at every level, current demands mean it is very hard for them.

One thing I have noted is that things of ‘Achievement, Opportunity and Goals’ should be presented. I have created solutions to problems and to my delight they have worked. I just want to keep on helping; as so much has been done for me.

I am very happy that I have been appointed to the Council of Governors. I will do my best, as an elected governor. I look forward to meeting new people.

I have been a carer for some 20+ years. I still feel young at heart and love walking and seeking new places.

I value being part of a team and contributing to social and community projects.

Being a governor is the next step for me in my journey with the NHS and I bring my best to the role. I have a high level of knowledge and experience from my work with SPFTs mental health team over the past decade, and I have also had acquired some useful skills and talents in my role as an expert by experience, and being part of a working together group.

I have been involved with community based projects in the arts, with a focus on positive mental wellbeing, since 2016, which has provided me with skills and knowledge I can share in my role as a Governor.

I feel privileged to have been appointed as a governor. This is my opportunity to uphold and advocate for the values and opinions of service users. I am lucky that I can do this, and I will endeavour to carry out my role to the best of my abilities to ensure that I and others can impact the services to be the best that they can be. 

Becoming the best version of myself is particularly important to me and I feel that this mentality can be personified by our institutions and organisations. Through hard work, dedication and a positive attitude, I can be in control of my own destiny.  It takes a collective effort for our services to be the best they can be. Working together, we can move mountains and I look forward to speaking to those whose opinions and experiences can have a far-reaching impact that will perpetuate future prosperity, wellness and success. 

I look forward to this venture and I hope that we can all shine together.

I am an experienced mental health nurse committed to improving care and advocating for patients and staff. I am passionate about improving mental health services and ensuring that staff, patients, and their families have a voice in how care is delivered. Having worked for the Trust since 2019, I have developed a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities within our services and want to use this insight to contribute to positive change at a strategic level.

As Ward Manager for Palmeira Ward, I bring frontline experience and a strong appreciation for the needs of both patients and staff. I have previously worked on a male acute ward and in a male Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), giving me a broad perspective across different service settings. These roles have given me first hand experience of the pressures our teams face, as well as the resilience, innovation, and compassion that define our work.

I am committed to advocating for safe, effective, and inclusive mental health care, and I believe in the power of collaboration between clinicians, service users, and the wider community. I hope to bring a practical and balanced voice to being a governor, grounded in everyday clinical experience and driven by a desire to help shape a more responsive, and more positive future for our Trust.

I am a committed Psychology professional who will work hard to ensure views of staff and services users are represented.

I have worked for Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation trust (previously East Sussex Healthcare trust) for over twenty years and over that time have demonstrated a passion for supporting staff and the people who use our services to have a voice in their support and care. I believe strongly in holding our services to account and would value being part of the mechanisms which have a mandate to contribute to this.

I believe that I have strong communication skills to elicit and represent the views of members and people who use our services, representing their ideas, needs and hopes for the trust strategic direction.

I have a keen interest in national developments across the health service and value supporting SPFT in using best practice and evidence to inform the developments as we move forward with our organisational strategy.

I am strongly committed to team working and have a specialist interest in patient safety and delivering effective, quality care which puts our staff and services users at the centre of everything that we do.

I was keen to be a governor in order to represent and support staff working in West Sussex.

In these challenging times it's important to have representation and opportunities for us to express our views but it is also important to provide balance and perspective during conversation about patient care and service changes.

I work as the lead nurse for Specialist Older Adult Mental Health Services (SOAMHS) and have worked for Sussex Partnership, in a variety of roles for nearly 20 years.

I feel I have the knowledge of services and connections within them to represent our staff and the confidence to challenge when its required.

I am an enthusiastic NHS staff member who advocates passionately for staff and users of our services.

My experiences of working in the trust as a Mental health Practitioner and Forensic Social Worker have encouraged me to put my name forward for the role of staff governor in the specialist division. I was inspired when attending a talk on the role at the annual forensic carers day. I am motivated to apply myself to the role with a drive to improve the experiences of those working in and being cared for by the trust. I feel it is imperative when in a leadership role to speak with people face to face and if elected as a governor, I will ensure I visit services within the specialist division and hold a space for an open flow of communication.

I have experience in board membership having been on the board of committee members for a charity, where I was also the safeguarding lead. I have previously undertaken radio interviews as a representative of another trust.

My aim as a governor is to advocate for all, highlighting our achievements, putting learning into practice and having a role in improving the trust for staff and users of our services. I also bring my skills and knowledge as a frontline NHS staff member to help inform decision making. 

I am the Lead Nurse for Physical Healthcare and Infection Prevention and Control at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT), driving improvements in physical health outcomes and leads on infection prevention strategies across the organisation.

In my role as Staff Governor for Corporate Services, I bring a strong clinical voice to the Trust’s governance, representing the views and experiences of corporate staff while championing safe, equitable, and person-centred care.

With a passion for bridging the gap between physical and mental health, I am committed to shaping services that are responsive, inclusive, and rooted in high-quality clinical practice.

I'm the Local Authority Governor representing West Sussex County Council and previous to this I was a public governor. As someone who has lived experience of mental health challenges I understand the importance of being able to access quality care and consider it a privilege to be part of the Council of Governors.

When I’m not working, I can usually be found hanging out with my two dogs, either stomping around the countryside or curled up with a book on the sofa.

 I’m the Chief Executive of West Sussex Mind, an independent local mental health charity working across West Sussex and part of the national Mind Federation. I strongly believe that we will be able to deliver better support and experience to people through closer partnership across the system.

Having worked closely with SPFT in my current role and in my previous career as a Probation Officer, I look forward to bringing a voluntary sector and community perspective to the Council of Governors, alongside a commitment to tackling health inequalities. 

I am the Director of Services at YMCA and oversee its core business of providing services that prevent youth homelessness and support children and young people’s emotional and mental health. 

Previously I was Head of Services (Independent Living) for Centrepoint.

I have worked in the supported housing sector for over 25 years and am passionate about shaping high quality services that produce planned, tangible and measured outcomes, and supporting strong resilient teams to deliver those services.

I also sit on a number of boards and am on the BME Editorial Panel for Inside Housing.

My research investigates biological mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of affective disorders, employing a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates diverse brain imaging modalities (such as quantitative MRI, MRS, PET) within experimental paradigms to study neurometabolic and neuroimmune alterations in people suffering from disabling affective symptoms. This works aims to generate mechanistic knowledge and also informs the development of novel treatment targets and approaches to rescue such abnormalities.

I have both a clinical and academic background. I graduated in Medicine at University of Milan (2004) and completed specialist training in Psychiatry in Milan (2008) and at the Maudsley General Adult Psychiatry Higher training programme in London. My research interests stem from academic experience in disciplines such affective neuroscience, neuroimaging, neuropsychopharmacology, neuroimmunology and metabolic psychiatry through doctoral and post-doctoral positions at Maastricht University (2005-09), Imperial College London & Imanova/invicro (2009-13), and King’s College’s IoPPN (2013-16).

I have been in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, at BSM, University of Sussex since late 2016.My clinical roles include being consultant psychiatrist in OpCourage, Sussex Partnership NHS Trust, a NHS mental health specialist service dedicated to provide specialist clinical care for military veterans, and Consultant & clinical lead for the SPFT Immunopsychiatry Research clinic, an innovative specialist service focusing on interactions between mood disorders and inflammation.