Public Governor for Manchester Constituency

I am a retired doctor and a current patient (attending outpatient appointments and for investigations).

I retired in July 2022 having previously worked as a Geriatrician at North Manchester General Hospital, specialising in the care of older people. In recent years I have worked with the Orthopaedic Surgeons to care for patients admitted under their care (usually with a broken bone following a fall). Since retiring, I have worked on the Frailty Unit during some of the trainee doctors’ strikes.

My main areas of interest are:

1. Patient Safety and Quality Improvement– and linking the 2 of them together.
2. Osteoporosis. In particular asking why there is no Fracture Liaison Service to reduce the risk of patients with a broken bone having another broken bone. This is standard practice in many hospitals in the UK, but not in Manchester.
3. Ensuring that older people with hearing impairment(i.e. are deaf) and people with learning disabilities are communicated with well. This is a legal requirement under the Accessible Information Standards.
4. Good team working.

Some of the principles underlying the way I work are:

1. A desire to improve the quality of care that patients experience.
2. An understanding that there are limited resources (both in terms of numbers of staff and finance) – but this should not prevent us striving for better patient care.
3. We all need to learn from our mistakes – and from observing things being done well.
4. Objectives are best achieved through good team working.

Public Governor (Rest of England & Wales)

Elected:                                 September 2024 (1^st term)

Term of Office:                  3 Years – Ending at 2027 Annual Members’ Meeting