Between 2014 and 2022 I worked as Joint Chief Executive (JCE), then Chief Executive, of St Christopher’s Hospice in London. This hospice is seen by many as the founder hospice of the modern hospice movement and has enjoyed a rich history and role as a leader in the sector. My role as JCE, sustained for over seven years, was a particularly rich experience, with opportunities to learn at strategic and personal levels across a shared role. It was an approach previously uncharted in the hospice sector and deemed successful by all involved.
I stood down from this role in mid-2022, interested to adopt a different working life. I continue to be involved at St Christopher’s part-time, responsible for shaping its strategic work around education, research and policy. In this role I was delighted to receive an award from the Burdett Trust in Nursing for work in education for clinical nurse palliative care specialists at St Christopher’s.
In the past, I have held the role of National Clinical Lead for Hospice UK, in which I provided executive leadership to a national commission focused on the future of hospice care here. Prior to that I worked as Clinical Director, then Strategy Advisor, to St. Joseph’s Hospice in East London. In the past I have led services for children as well as adults and acted as a senior associate with the Innovation Unit in London. In 2016 I received an award from the Innovation Unit focused on achieving change through disruptive thinking.
I am a general and mental health nurse by background and have a PhD, focused on users experience of hospice care. In 2014 I was awarded the title International Palliative Nurse of the Year by the International Journal of Palliative Nursing.
I enjoy generating new provocations and proposals for change, working up publications, offering support for existing players and facilitating conversations with potential collaborators
I currently enjoy honorary roles as Professor in Palliative Care at Lancaster University, and in 2022 joined as a Senior Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College in Oxford, and as a member of the London Clinical Senate.
My enduring commitment is to shape health and social care so that it is responsive to the shifting needs and expectations