Nina Barnett, Consultant Pharmacist

Nina Barnett is a Consultant Pharmacist  with over twenty years experience in pharmacy across the NHS . She has a proven track record in both strategic an operation al development relating to clinical pharmacy, teaching and clinical leader ship in the area of older people and pharmacist prescribing . She  has been published in national and international  journals.

Her teaching  experience includes all levels of pharmacists, patients and carers. She has developed and delivered MSc level courses including care of older people and prescribing  to pharmacists and other health care professionals through the London School of Pharmacy & Kings College London.

Nina has worked at a national level though the department of health and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in an advisory capacity and leading change for the pharmacy profession. She has worked with RPS to support national dissemination of the transfer of care work through national radio appearances and through the website http://www.rpharms.com/health-campaigns/real-danger.asp

Her clinical work includes development and implementation of new services around patient orientated outcomes in both hospital services and primary care,  including reducing risk of preventable medicines-related readmission in older people. As a pharmacist prescriber, she has experience working with intermediate care and rehabilitation patients, carers, health & social care staff.

Sharon Blackburn, NCF Policy and Communications Director

Sharon commenced as NCF Policy and Communications Director in May 2009. She was previously the Managing Director for Heart of England Housing and Care Ltd. Sharon has gained a breadth of managerial and care experience in both 'for profit' and 'not for profit' organisations. Previous posts within the sector have included Director of Nursing and Director of Quality Assurance. She has particular skills in the areas of the management of change and of health and social care policy. Sharon is passionate about quality, people and their potential. She is Co-Chair of the Coalition for Better  Care and sits on a number of national working and reference groups.

In 2003 Sharon was the winner of the Nursing Standard – Nurse Leadership Award.

Sharon is a Board member of EAHSA.

Alison Blenkinsopp, Professor of the Practice of Pharmacy at University of Bradford School of Pharmacy

Alison Blenkinsopp is an academic pharmacist who has worked extensively with the NHS on implementing changes in practice and on medicines and healthcare policy. She is currently Professor of the Practice of Pharmacy at University of Bradford School of Pharmacy, a newly established post with a brief to lead research in medicines management and education. She is working with the Bradford Institute for Health Research and colleagues in academia and practice to develop research into improving patient safety in medicines use across care settings. Alison has a longstanding research interest in community pharmacy’s contribution to improving patient care.

Linda Dodds, Director,  Medicines Use and Safety Division East and South East England Specialist Pharmacy Services

Linda is currently Director of Medicines Use and Safety for  East and South East England Specialist Pharmacy Services. She leads a small team who are commissioned to support pharmacy teams in all sectors across 4 SHAs to deliver safe and effective pharmaceutical care through project work and networking events. She joined the team in 2004 after 8 years working in primary care as a Health Authority and then PCT pharmaceutical adviser. Prior to that she had spent most of her career in secondary care as a clinical services manager and trainer, latterly in hospitals in Kent. She is also a teacher practitioner at Medway School of Pharmacy, developing and supporting postgraduate programmes, and editor of Drugs in Use: Clinical case studies for pharmacists which is now in its 4th Edition.

Denise Farmer, Associate Director of NHS Clinical Pharmacy Service (East of England)

Since 2003 I have worked for the East and South East Specialist Pharmacy Services as part of the Medicines Use and Safety division. I am based in the East of England and support the development pharmacy services and safe and cost effective medicines use across all healthcare sectors. I have a special interest and expertise in the use and handling of medicines in secure environments such as HM Prisons and have regionally supported the prisons in the East of England in meeting national quality standards.

Gill Harvey, Head of Medicines Management, National Prescribing Centre

A registered Pharmacy Technician by background, Gill worked for many years in various hospitals throughout Liverpool before becoming one of the first Primary Care Prescribing Support Technicians in the country.  In 2001 she joined the NPC as a Development Manager in the Medicines Management team.Gill worked on each of the NPC medicines management improvement collaboratives, leading specifically on change management and project manager training. She now leads on medicines management at the NPC and was involved in developing the NPC Medicines Reconciliation publication, as well as the more recent Medicines Management Competency Frameworks for Commissioning Consortia. 

Dr Diane Ketley, Head, Research and Evaluation, NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement

Diane Ketley is Head, Research and Evaluation at the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement and Honorary Lecturer, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester. Originally trained and worked as a pharmacist in acute teaching hospitals in Birmingham UK and Baltimore USA before moving to Leicester Royal Infirmary as a principal pharmacist in 1990. For two years was involved in the hospital wide ‘process re-engineering’ programme. In 1996 completed part time research resulting in the award of a PhD entitled ‘Beyond clinical trials: Translation of evidence into practice in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction’. Joined the Centre for Best Practice, Leicester Royal Infirmary in 1996 with a focus on research and development, clinical effectiveness and clinical governance. Led the Research into Practice Team at the NHS Modernisation Agency, whose aim was to identify factors which influence the spread and sustainability of new practices in the NHS.

Paula Keys, Head of Operational Quality, Bupa Care Services

Paula Keys is a pharmacist currently working in the care home industry. Paula is the Head of Quality for Bupa Care Homes and leads on all aspects of quality of service for Bupa's care homes, as well as leading the organisational direction on medicines management. Bupa has 18500 residents across 300 care homes in England, Scotland and Wales.

Paula worked as a pharmacist, manager and area manager in retail pharmacy for many years before leaving the retail sector to work in healthcare services. She has managed a secure mental health hospital, worked in occupational health and managed a multi-site employer based healthcare service before joining Bupa Care Services in 2008.

Carina Livingstone, Medicines Use and Safety Division East and South East England Specialist Pharmacy Services

Carina, a pharmacist based in Sussex, has been Associate Director, Medicines Use and Safety Division, NHS East & South East England Specialist Pharmacy Services since 2009. Before that, she worked for 10 years in primary care, mostly providing prescribing support for GP practices in Hampshire. She has also held academic posts at Aston and Brighton, and other positions in community and industrial pharmacy. She is particularly interested in design and evaluation of pharmacy services.

Jonathan Mason, National Clinical Director for Pharmacy (Primary and community), Department of Health

Jonathan is National Clinical Director for Primary Care and Community Pharmacy at the Department of Health, and Head of Medicines Management at NHS East London and the City. Jonathan champions the development of pharmaceutical services which best meet the needs of patients and the public and provides clinical leadership to help shape future models of care.

Jonathan is also Head of Medicines Management at NHS East London and the City (a partnership of City and Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets PCTs). He provides professional prescribing and medicines management advice to the Primary Care Commissioning Directorate.  

Jonathan has a wealth of experience of pharmacy practice, having worked in hospital pharmacy; laboratory-based research into drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics; academia; medicines regulation; and running a busy village pharmacy.  Since 1998, Jonathan has worked in primary care pharmacy, first as a prescribing support pharmacist in East Kent, then as prescribing adviser with Canterbury and Coastal PCT, and latterly as Head of Prescribing and Pharmacy at NHS City and Hackney. 

Catherine Picton, Author, Keeping patients safe when they transfer between care providers – getting the medicines right

Catherine is a pharmacist and experienced healthcare consultant /project manager who has worked with the Department of Health, local and national NHS organisations and healthcare professional bodies in England. Her particular areas of interest include health policy that supports the optimal use of medicines, with a focus on practical application and sustainability (policy to practice), as well as competency development for organisations, teams or individuals.

Catherine has authored a wide range of practical guidance and tools that support health policy implementation, as well as leading on the set-up of several associated programmes. Most recently Keeping patients safe when they transfer between care providers – getting the medicines right Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Previously, Catherine was Managing Editor of Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. Prior to that, she worked as a practice research pharmacist and a hospital pharmacist.

Ganesh Sathyamoorthy, Head of Operations and Delivery, NIHR CLAHRC for Northwest London

Ganesh is responsible for the strategic development, operational delivery and governance of the programme. He leads the core team whilst maintaining effective partnership working across all key stakeholders. Ganesh has a Masters in the Management of Community Care and built the SDO Network, based at the NHS Confederation, from an outline bid to a fully functioning network.

Richard Seal, NHS West Midlands and NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement

Richard Seal is a registered pharmacist with a Masters degree in Prescribing Sciences.  Richard joined NHS West Midlands as Programme Consultant in Medicines Management in September 2008 and has been Medicines Management Adviser to the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement since November 2007.  Previously, he was Director of Medicines Management at the National Prescribing Centre. Richard is QIPP medicines management work stream lead in the West Midlands and also a member of the national QIPP medicines management advisory panel.  His specialist interests include the psychological and sociological influences on prescribing behaviour, medicines management and quality improvement and large scale change.

Sachin Shah, Campaigns Officer Parkinson's UK

Sachin Shah works for Parkinson’s UK. He is the campaigns officer and leads on the charity’s campaign called Get it on time. This is a campaign to make sure that people with Parkinson’s get their medication on time.

The charity’s interest in transfer of care is because it is often at the point of transfer that information about timing and medication goes missing.

Martin Stephens, National Clinical Director for Hospital Pharmacy, Department of Health

Martin Stephens (BPharm, MSc, MRPharmS, MCPP) is currently National Clinical Director for Hospital Pharmacy at the Department of Health. This is a half time secondment from Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust (SUHT). The other half of his time is as Associate Medical Director Clinical Effectiveness & Medicines Management.

Qualifying in 1980, then working as a pharmacist in a number of roles across the West Midland, Martin became Chief Pharmacist at Wolverhampton Hospitals in 1989. In 1997 he moved to become Chief Pharmacist at SUHT taking on additional responsibility for Medical Physics & the Therapies as clinical lead from 1998 to 2006. In April 2006 he became Divisional Clinical Director for Clinical Support, Radiology and Pathology at SUHT, stepping down as Chief Pharmacist but taking on the clinical effectiveness role he retains. In December 2008 he took up the National Clinical Director role.

Kandarp Thakkar,  Project Manager, ImPE Project Associate, Centre for Medication Safety and Service Quality (CMSSQ)

After graduating from the London School of Pharmacy, Kandarp trained at Guy’s & St. Thomas’ Hospital before taking up a junior pharmacist post at Ealing Hospital. He joined Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHNT) as part of the first admissions pharmacy team in 2004 and took on the post of Lead Pharmacist Admissions in 2007. His specialist areas of clinical interest include acute and elderly medicine and research interests include improving prescribing for the elderly, antibiotic stewardship, pharmacist independent prescribing and quality improvement. Postgraduate education includes an MSc in qualitative research and a certificate in independent prescribing. Kandarp is currently the project manager for various NIHR CLAHRC funded Improving Prescribing for the Elderly projects and is also involved in a project examining anti-infective prescribing within ICHNT and Ealing Hospitals NHS Trust.

Susan Went, Susan Went, Senior Expert In Healthcare Quality Improvement

Susan is a Healthcare Improvement Expert jointly appointed by the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.  This innovative new role, supported by the Health Foundation, is designed to develop quality improvement approaches within colleges’ mainstream work and build partnerships across professions to improve aspects of care. Amongst other projects, Susan is currently leading the national cross sector project to improve management of medicines in care homes.