Welsh NHS Confederation Annual Conference and Exhibition 2024

• To ED and beyond: a partnership approach to supporting a healthier nation (British Red Cross)
• Empowering health professionals: core skills in MSK care for enhanced population health and patient-centric services (Cymru Versus Arthritis)
• Mind Cymru: Leaving no mind behind in Wales (Mind Cymru)

To ED and beyond: a partnership approach to supporting a healthier nation 

This session is supported by British Red Cross.

Empowering health professionals: core skills in MSK care for enhanced population health and patient-centric services

This session is supported by Cymru Versus Arthritis.

Join us for an engaging and informative breakfast workshop where we provide a condensed overview of Versus Arthritis' flagship "Core Skills in MSK Care" education program.  

Mind Cymru: Leaving no mind behind in Wales

Director of the Welsh NHS Confederation Darren Hughes will introduce the day's proceedings.

We'll hear from chair of the Welsh NHS Confederation and chair of Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Jonathan Morgan.

We'll hear from Jeremy Miles MS on his priorities for health and care as he sets out in one of Wales' most demanding jobs.

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, NHS Confederation

This session is sponsored by our event partner, Novartis 

• Lance Carver, President, Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru (ADSSC) & Director of Social Services, Vale of Glamorgan Council
• Darren Hughes, Director, Welsh NHS Confederation

• (Chair) Marie Brousseau-Navarro, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Future Generations Commissioner
• Sharon James-Evans, Principal, Cardiff and Vale College
• Karen Rosser, Corporate Director - People, Communications and IT, Hafod Housing
• David Leech, Strategic Director for Adults & Communities, Torfaen County Borough Council
• Ashley Comley, Chief Executive, Citizens Advice RCT

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton is one of the most senior woman fire officers in the world. After leaving home at 15 and school at 16, she overcame extreme personal adversity and a period of homelessness and began her career as a firefighter. At night school, she studied for a 1st Class Honours degree in Psychology, a Masters in International Fire Service Development and a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience.

She is now recognised as a leading international expert on risk-critical decision making in crises and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University. She has presented her work all over the world and used her research to change deeply ingrained national policy.

• Carer Aware: getting the most out of your interactions with unpaid carers (Carers Trust and Carers Wales)
• Tackling cancer digitally: a leaders' guide to the importance of cloud for early detection and diagnosis (Amazon Web Services)
• NHS/Industry Partnerships: a recipe for success (ABPI Cymru Wales)
• From data to decisions: How data can transform health and care in Wales (Digital Health and Care Wales)
• Embedding research in NHS care – why it’s our duty of quality to patients (Health and Care Research Wales)

Carer Aware: getting the most out of your interactions with unpaid carers 

This Carer Aware session is sponsored by Carers Trust and Carers Wales. 

Tackling cancer digitally: a leaders' guide to the importance of cloud for early detection and diagnosis 

This session is supported by our event partner, Amazon Web Services.

Cloud computing has the potential to transform cancer care, as it has transformed other industries. As a healthcare leader how do you start on this cloud journey to a better experience and improved outcomes for cancer patients?  

NHS/Industry Partnerships: a recipe for success

This session is supported by our event partner, ABPI Cymru Wales.

Session chair:

• Jonathan Morgan, Chair, Welsh NHS Confederation & Chair, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Speakers:

• Nabil Rastani, Strategic Partnership Policy Manager, ABPI
• Dr Magda Meissner, Medical Oncology Consultant, Velindre Cancer Centre / Clinical Senior Lecturer, Cardiff University / Clinical Liquid Biopsy Lead at All Wales Medical Genetics Laboratory 
• Dr Ed Piper (BSc, MBBS, MRCGP, MFPM), Director of Medical and Scientific Affairs, AstraZeneca
• Professor Chris Hopkins, Consultant Clinical Scientist and Honorary Professor, Swansea University

• Peter Taylor, NHS Engagement and Access Manager, Sanofi 

   

From data to decisions: How data can transform health and care in Wales 

This session is supported by Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW).

Embedding research in NHS care – why it’s our duty of quality to patients

This session is supported by Health and Care Research Wales.

Repeat of above breakout sessions - see 12.00

We will be running interactive ‘open exchange’ sessions: asking a key question, each session will provide an opportunity for sharing ideas and gaining mutual understanding around a specific topic.  

• How do we become a healthier nation?
• ‘Your call is in a queue’ – why is GP access too hard to fix? 
• Balancing act: How do we enable financial sustainability and meet patients’ needs? 
• Wales is full of pilots. How do we realise the full potential of innovation? 
• Are we equal partners? The role of the third sector 

How do we become a healthier nation?

‘Your call is in a queue’ – why is GP access too hard to fix? 

Balancing act: How do we enable financial sustainability and meet patients’ needs? 

Wales is full of pilots. How do we realise the full potential of innovation? 

Are we equal partners? The role of the third sector 

Repeat of above open exchange sessions - see 15.30

Allie Iftikhar, Time to Change Wales Champion, Mind Cymru

I have struggled with my mental health, namely depression and anxiety, since my teenage years. Being brought up in an Asian-British background made it hard for me to articulate how I felt to my parents, as they didn’t necessarily understand what ‘I had to be sad about’. I am a Time to Change Champion as I think it’s really important to myth bust and raise awareness of mental health struggles. You can live with depression and anxiety and still be a successful woman, partner and dog mother! 

Anthony Byrne, Palliative Care Consultant, Velindre University NHS Trust

Dr Anthony Byrne is a palliative medicine consultant with Velindre University NHS Trust. He has extensive clinical and policy experience of service delivery across community, hospice and acute clinical settings and the challenges of cross-sector and cross-setting working. He was founding director of the Marie Curie Research Centre within the School of Medicine, Cardiff University where he also held an honorary chair, and was Clinical Director of the Centre until his retirement from that role in 2024.

He has worked closely with Digital Health and Care Wales and the Wales Value in Health Centre on their development of a population-level dataset detailing interactions with unscheduled care services in the last year of life, and on the development of a consensus driven, patient reportable palliative care core outcome set to inform assessment of care quality. These, and allied projects, are focused on creating a lens for clinical services to focus on systems-based assessments of care delivery and identification of innovative opportunities for integrated solutions. Crucially, iterative development allows access within the NHS to all clinical services in real time to facilitate care improvements.   

Ashley Comley, Chief Executive, Citizens Advice RCT

Carl Cooper, Chair, Powys Teaching Health Board

Carl has spent most of his working life in the voluntary sector in Wales. A native of Wigan, he has worked and lived in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire Gwynedd and Powys. He worked for the Church in Wales for 25 years and has held positions of senior management and leadership since 1999. He is a fluent Welsh speaker.

From 2008 to 2022 Carl was Chief Executive of Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO). He was involved in supporting and representing the third sector in many ways at local, regional and national level. He is currently chair of Powys Teaching Health Board and a board member of Social Care Wales.

He holds degrees in French and Theology, a Master of Philosophy degree for research into the sociology of language in bilingual Wales; and has recently completed doctoral research into Regional Partnership Boards. He has held a number of public appointments including membership of the BBC Audience Council for Wales and the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Advisory Panel.

Carly Gray, Programme Lead, Carers Trust Wales

Carly is Programme Lead at Carers Trust Wales. She joined Carers Trust in December 2023, where she leads on the design and development of programmes to improve the lives of carers in Wales. Carly oversees and supports the delivery of the Carer Aware programme for Carers Trust. She has a background in education, training, programme management and engagement and is also a long-term foster parent.

Caroline Chapman, Executive Manager, Mind Cymru

Caroline is an experienced mental health leader, overseeing the delivery of services in the Vale of Glamorgan for the last 12 years. 

Carolyn Donoghue, Research Board Champion, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Carolyn is a senior executive and Non-Executive Director with significant experience in the NHS and Higher Education. Originally qualifying as a Registered General Nurse, she later developed a clinical career, before moving into training and senior management. Carolyn held a number of senior roles in the NHS in Bristol before moving into Higher Education latterly at Cardiff University as College Registrar.

Carolyn has developed a portfolio career which includes the role of Magistrate, Chair of South East Wales Student Mental Health Project, Chair of Welsh Wound Innovation Centre and Independent Member of the Board of Governors, University West of England. 

Chris Bryant, GP partner, Afon Elai Partnership, Cardiff and Locality Community Director, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Dr Chris Bryant is a GP in Cardiff, where he also completed his training, after stints in Cornwall and Australia. Passionate about the exceptional potential of primary care, he was part of the team that delivered the original 'accelerated cluster' transformation project in Cardiff Southwest cluster. Dr Bryant now serves as the locality lead GP for Cardiff with CAV UHB.

Darren Hughes, Director, Welsh NHS Confederation

Darren has been director of the Welsh NHS Confederation since August 2019. Prior to this he had worked in health professional regulation as Director for Wales at the General Pharmaceutical Council and Head of Office at the General Medical Council.

Darren joined the Welsh Confed with a wealth of experience working with the NHS. His career to date has meant he has worked extensively with the NHS, healthcare professionals, the UK and Welsh Governments, politicians, the media and health stakeholders.

He has also conducted research at Cardiff University looking at how organisations can work together to campaign for legislative change.

Darren Lloyd, Assistant Director of Information Governance and Patient Safety, Digital Health and Care Wales

Darren has work extensively within centralised NHS Wales administration services for more than 35 years. Over the past 20 years, he has worked more exclusively within the areas of Information Governance compliance.

Darren is responsible for a team of Information Governance professionals that provide support for the implementation of key IG products within Wales to include:

• IG Toolkit for Wales

• DPO Service for General Practitioners within Wales

• Wales Accord for Sharing Personal Information - WASPI

• National Intelligent Integrated Audit Solution – NIIAS

David Leech, Strategic Director for Adults & Communities, Torfaen County Borough Council

Dave Leech is the Strategic Director for Adults & Communities with Torfaen County Borough Council. Dave’s background is in community development. He joined Torfaen Council in 2012 with a vision, desire and motivation to genuinely involve communities in shaping the support available to people who live in their local area. This has formed the basis for Torfaen’s Communities Approach.

Dave Thomas, Director, Audit Wales

Born in Swansea, with an academic background in biomedical sciences, Dave is a Director at Audit Wales with 30 years’ experience of public sector value for money audit. In that time, he has led many national reviews that have examined NHS service delivery across a range of areas. He is the architect of Audit Wales’s annual structured assessment work and has led work that has reported on high profile governance failures within NHS bodies.  

Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales

Derek Walker is the second ever Future Generations Commissioner, having started the role on March 1, 2023, when he called for ‘urgent and transformational change’ in Wales. 

Previously he was chief executive of Cwmpas, the UK’s largest co-operative development agency. Derek spent 12 years as CEO, working to support people and communities to create jobs and strengthen communities, and changed the organisation’s focus to development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations.

Dr Andrew Jones BSc. MB BS MSc. (IS) MRCGP, Head of Digital Transformation, Amazon Web Services

Andrew is Head of Digital Transformation at Amazon Web Services. He is a physician by background with 20 years’ experience of working in the NHS in both primary and secondary care. Over the past 15 years he has worked in a variety of Health Technology roles including on the UK National Programme for IT, BMJ, Hearst Health and DXC Technology. He helps public sector organisations progress at all stages of their digital transformation journey. In his current role, he supports customers and partners to build innovative solutions using AWS’ cloud services to improve the citizen experience and solve societal challenges. 

Dr Chris Jones CBE, Chair, Health Education and Improvement Wales

A general practitioner by background, Chris was a practising GP for 32 years as Senior Partner in the Taff Vale Practice in Pontypridd.

Chris is now the Chairman of Health Education and Improvement Wales and previously was the Chairman of Rhondda Cynon Taff and subsequently Cwm Taf University Health Boards. He was awarded a CBE for his services to healthcare 2007. 

Chris created “Setting the Direction: A Strategic Change Delivery Programme for Primary and Community Services in Wales” in 2009. Dr Jones has been the Coordinating Chair of Health Boards and Trusts since 2014 and was the Chair of the Welsh NHS Confederation during 2015/16.

Dr Ed Piper, Director of Medical and Scientific Affairs, AstraZeneca

Dr Ed Piper (BSc, MBBS, MRCGP, MFPM) is Director of Medical and Scientific Affairs at AstraZeneca. He trained in Medicine at Guys & St Thomas’, after which he spent seven years in NHS practice. In 2001, he moved into the pharmaceutical industry and is currently responsible for AstraZeneca UK medical strategy across cardio-renal, respiratory, immunology, and vaccines therapy areas. He is passionate about effective collaboration to improve patient outcomes and reduce heath inequalities.

Dr Karen Pardy, Deputy Clinical Board Director, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Dr Karen Pardy is a GP in Cardiff.  She qualified in 1997 at the University of Wales College of Medicine and completed postgraduate training in Paediatrics and General Practice.  She was the Lead for Cardiff SW Primary Care Cluster from 2013-2022 and led the cluster in developing a transformation model of integrated care. 

Dr Pardy is currently Deputy Clinical Board Director PCIC, Cardiff and Vale UHB and her responsibilities include cluster development and social prescribing.

Dr Leighton Phillips, Director of Research, Innovation and University Partnerships, Hywel Dda University Health Board

Dr Leighton Phillips is the Director of Research, Innovation, and University Partnerships at Hywel Dda University Health Board, leading a department covering research and development, medical device innovation, and the delivery of value-based healthcare.  Leighton has previously held senior leadership roles in the NHS, academia, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and the senior civil service, where he developed a new strategy and planning system. 

Leighton’s research interests include the biopsychosocial determinants of decision making in complex systems and he has led a substantial programme to better understand technology adoption in healthcare systems, including working with biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies.

Dr Magda Meissner, Medical Oncology Consultant, Velindre Cancer Centre

Dr Magda Meissner is a Medical Oncology Consultant at Velindre Cancer Centre, and Clinical Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University. Additionally, she serves as the Clinical Liquid Biopsy Lead at All Wales Medical Genetics Laboratory (AWMGS). Formerly, she held the role of Cancer Research UK Clinical Trial Fellow at Cardiff University and was awarded a Clinical Research Fellowship by the Welsh Cancer Research Centre, based at the early phase clinical trials unit in Velindre Cancer Centre. 

Dr Nicola Williams, National Director of Support and Delivery, Health and Care Research Wales

Nicola is responsible for ensuring efficient, effective and research support and study delivery across Wales.

Nicola has worked in the NHS for 30 years and been an active researcher, initially delivering research projects and programmes in primary care and public health and subsequently leading a public health research unit. Prior to her role in Wales, Nicola was Deputy Director of Research and Development in a large acute trust in England and in parallel, worked as a policy and change advisor to the Welsh and UK Governments, and the Health Research Authority. Nicola is also a Chartered Coaching Psychologist.

Dr Prabhu Arumugam MBBS PhD FBCS, Clinical Innovation Lead, Amazon Web Services

Prabhu is Clinical Innovation Lead at Amazon Web Services. Prabhu trained in medicine St. Bartholomew’s and the Royal London. He trained in Histopathology and completed his PhD at The Barts Cancer Institute on pancreatic pathology. Prior to joining Amazon Web Services, Prabhu was Director of Clinical Data Imaging at Genomics England, and led the multimodal programme, focusing on the utility of linking whole genomes to digital pathology and radiology imaging. He was also Genomics England’s Caldicott Guardian and was seconded to NHS England to lead the delivery of the regional Secure Data Environment programme.

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, international expert on risk-critical decision making in crises and Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University

Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton is one of the most senior woman fire officers in the world. After leaving home at 15 and school at 16, she overcame extreme personal adversity and a period of homelessness and began her career as a firefighter. At night school, she studied for a 1st Class Honours degree in Psychology, a Masters in International Fire Service Development and a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience.

She is now recognised as a leading international expert on risk-critical decision making in crises and is an Honorary Research Fellow at Cardiff University. She has presented her work all over the world and used her research to change deeply ingrained national policy.

Dr Simon Donovan, GP and Cluster Lead, Blaenau Gwent West, Anuerin Bevan University Health Board

Dr Simon Donovan in a GP in Ebbw Vale and Neighbourhood Care Network/Cluster Lead for Blaenau Gwent West.   Dr Donovan was born in Pontypool and qualified in 1993 at Royal London Hospital Medical College.  He returned to Gwent for the GP training scheme and later worked in the Heads of the Valleys GP Recruitment Scheme, designed to attract a younger generation of GPs into practices in the South Wales Valleys.  After taking over the Ebbw Vale Health Centre in 2005 (which he renamed Pen-y-cae Surgery) it went on to earn the prestigious Royal College of General Practitioners Quality Practice Award.  Dr Donovan has recently been involved with the RCGP Deep End Project in Wales and is passionate about population health and reducing health inequalities through collaboration and partnership working.

Dyfed Edwards, Chair, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

Dyfed Edwards has been an Independent Member on the Board of Public Health Wales since April 2018.  He was appointed Deputy Chair of the Welsh Revenue Authority in September 2018, having served on the Board since October 2017.   

Dyfed is past Leader of Gwynedd Council, a position he held between 2008 and 2017, when he stood down as an elected representative. He was also Vice President of the Welsh Local Government Association and served as a representative on the Welsh Government/Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) Finance Sub-Group and as spokesperson on housing, the Welsh language, heritage, sport and the arts during this period. Dyfed has also served as member of the Welsh Government Expert Group on Housing an Ageing Population and the Welsh Government Welsh Speaking Communities Task and Finish Group.

Dyfed has wide knowledge of education in Wales as a past teacher and governor of both primary and secondary schools having held the position of portfolio leader for education in Gwynedd prior to his appointment as Leader.

He has served on voluntary and third sector organisations in Gwynedd and has experience in the SME sector establishing a music publishing business before taking up his post as leader of Gwynedd. Dyfed was recognised with the award of Welsh Local Politician of the Year in 2009.

He was born and brought up in Rhosllannerchrugog, Wrexham and now lives in Penygroes, Gwynedd.  In his leisure time Dyfed enjoys sport, the arts, walking and reading.

Gareth John, Head of Information and Delivery, Digital Health and Care Wales

Gareth has over 20 years of experience working with health information in Wales, in which he has headed up teams responsible for managing the development and maintenance of NHS Wales’ national data warehouse, currently hosted by Digital Health & Care Wales, and teams responsible for the analysis and publishing of NHS Wales data.

Gareth has used his background in statistics and research to support a number of major NHS Wales projects, including the South Wales Programme, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Amber Review, and NHS Wales response to COVID, using a variety of advanced analytical techniques such as machine learning, modelling and simulation. 

In addition, Gareth has been responsible for the development of a range of different record linkage algorithms, allowing NHS analysts to track patient (or citizen) journeys through the whole health system, whilst safeguarding patient confidentiality through techniques such as pseudonymisation. Gareth’s NHS number matching algorithm remains one of the cornerstones of Swansea University’s world-renowned SAIL databank.

Gareth Williams, Vice Chair, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

Iain McLaren, Service Manager, British Red Cross

Iain joined the British Red Cross after a 15-year management career in hospitality.

He has managed a portfolio of services across South Wales, including regulated Support at Home services, Social Prescribing, Community Support and at Glangwilli General Hospital Emergency Department, and pan-Wales the introduction of PSIRF.

Managing services pre, mid & post pandemic, Iain has borne witness to the stresses and pressures throughout the system and is firmly of the view that together is better.

Jake Smith, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Carers Wales

Jake Smith is the Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer at Carers Wales. He joined Carers Wales in 2020, where he works to highlight the needs of unpaid carers in public policy making. Jake is the Chair of Public Affairs Cymru. He also leads the delivery of a regular programme of social worker training sessions delivered as part of the Carer Aware project.

Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care

Jeremy Miles was born and raised in Pontarddulais. As a Welsh speaker, he was educated at Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera in the Swansea Valley and New College, Oxford where he studied law. Following graduation, Jeremy taught law at Warsaw University in Poland. Later, Jeremy practised as a solicitor in London and then held senior legal and commercial posts in media sector businesses, including ITV and the US television network and film studio NBC Universal. After returning to live in Wales Jeremy set up his own consultancy working with international clients in the broadcast and digital sectors.

Jeremy was elected to the National Assembly for Wales for the Neath constituency in May 2016 as the Labour and Co-operative party candidate. On 16 November 2017, Jeremy was appointed Counsel General and on 13 December 2018 he was appointed Counsel General and Minister for Brexit. Jeremy was appointed Minister for Education and Welsh Language on 13 May 2021, and Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language on 21 March 2024. Jeremy was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care on 11 September 2024.

Johanna Davies, Head of Health and Social Care, WCVA

Johanna has worked in the voluntary, housing, academia and public sectors, predominantly working with older people and carers. She is a graduate of Swansea University with an MSc in International Gerontology and Ageing Studies and also studied abroad at the University of Alberta, Canada. 

Committed to promoting the involvement and inclusion of people with lived experience in decision making she is also an advocate for the role of the voluntary sector in supporting people and communities. In her spare time Johanna is a swimming instructor and passionate about ensuring children and adults learn this important life skill. 

As Head of Health and Social Care she is leading a team working towards ensuring that voluntary organisations and volunteers are trusted and valued as equal partners who are integral to the delivery of a healthier, resilient and more equal Wales. 

John McIntyre, Clinical Lead Physiotherapist, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

A physiotherapist with over two decades of experience, specializing in musculoskeletal care and lower limb rehabilitation. They have worked with semi-professional sports teams and recreational athletes, and led MSK teams in hospital and primary care settings. Currently, a Clinical Lead Physiotherapist at Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB, they collaborate with Versus Arthritis to design patient-centered services. With an MSc in Physiotherapy, their focus is on promoting education, empowerment, and self-management in MSK care.

Jonathan Morgan, Chair, Welsh NHS Confederation & Chair, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Jonathan is Chair of Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board and has worked across health, social care and housing in a range of senior and non-executive roles. Prior to taking up the post of Chair at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Jonathan was Chair of Hafod Housing Association in South Wales, delivering social housing and a range of social care services across Cardiff, the Vale, Bridgend, and RCT.

He was also an Independent Member of the Board at Health Education and Improvement Wales and served on the Audit Committee for the Public Services Ombudsman and Future Generations Commissioner. After leaving the National Assembly for Wales in 2011, he has spent the past 12 years working across health, social care, and housing in a variety of senior and non-executive roles.

Jonathan is passionate about the potential for organisations to work better together and places a huge value on the scope for collaboration. He has a strong interest in mental health services, having introduced legislation to improve services in Wales. Jonathan is the Chair of the Remuneration & Terms of Service Committee.

Karen Rosser, Corporate Director - People, Communications and IT, Hafod Housing

Kate Griffiths, Director for Wales, British Red Cross

Kate joined the British Red Cross in November 2018, following 13 years working for the NHS in Wales. As the Director for Wales, Kate oversees the direction of service strategy and leads on national development of health and care services in Wales.

Kate is passionate about increasing the role of the voluntary and community sector in reducing health inequalities, enabling prevention, engaging communities and in delivering support – particularly to those most vulnerable in society.

Katija Dew, Senior Business Development Manager, British Red Cross

Teej joined the British Red Cross in 2024 having worked in the third and public sectors on tackling poverty and social inclusion in Wales for over 30 years.

Previously as an Independent Member of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, and soon to join the Board of Social Care Wales, Teej is particularly interested in models of health and care that integrate the third sector into public services in all settings.   

Marie Brousseau-Navarro, Deputy Commissioner, Officer of the Future Generations Commissioner

Marie is the Deputy Commissioner and Director for Health at the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. She leads on the Commissioner's health and well-being mission to facilitate a transformation in the way we keep people healthy, with a greater focus on prevention and the long term, so that public bodies are working together to tackle the root causes of ill health and addressing health inequalities. She helped set up the office in 2016 together with the first Commissioner.  As Deputy Commissioner she makes sure the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner walks the talk.

Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, NHS Confederation

Matthew joined the NHS Confederation as Chief Executive in June 2021.

Matthew is a high-profile public figure who has had a distinguished career at the heart of public policy for the last 20 years. He has led the RSA for 15 years and during that time he has transformed the organisation into a global institution, with 30,000 fellows and a high-profile and influential research programme.

Before that he was Chief Adviser on Political Strategy to Prime Minister Tony Blair, and he also ran the Institute for Public Policy Research for four years. He is a widely known commentator on policy, politics and public service reform and regularly appears on national media programmes, including as a panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze. He was also commissioned by the Conservative Government in 2016 to carry out an independent review into modern employment practices. Matthew started his career as a health policy researcher in the West Midlands.

Matthew brings a remarkable depth of experience at the heart of government and public policy and is a compelling advocate for our members as they face the challenges of recovering from the pandemic and delivering better health for all the communities they serve.  

Nabil Rastani, Strategic Partnership Policy Manager, ABPI

Nabil Rastani is the Strategic Partnership Policy Manager at the ABPI, a role he has held since October 2022. Before joining the ABPI, Nabil worked as a Consultant at Lexington Communications, a Senior Political Consultant at Dods Parliamentary Communications, and a Public Affairs Associate at Lilly UK.

Neil Wooding, Chair, Hywel Dda University Health Board

Neil has had the pleasure of holding senior roles in central, regional, and local government as well as the NHS and third sector. His most recent role was Executive Director in the Cabinet Office and Chief People Officer in the Ministry of Justice (2018-2021). In addition to his Executive roles, he also held the role of a Non-Executive Director with the Scottish Government.

Currently Chair of Hywel Dda UHB and Chair of the Wales Council for Voluntary Action. Neil is a Companion of the Chartered Institute of People Management and was awarded a CBE in 2022.

Peter Taylor, NHS Engagement and Access Manager, Sanofi

Peter Taylor is an NHS Engagement and Access Manager with Sanofi and has been with the organisation for nearly 19 years. Prior to this he worked across many disease areas in both sales and engagement roles, including Market Access, collaborative working and strategy development. Before his career in industry Pete was a biomedical scientist. Outside of work, Pete enjoys swimming in lakes rivers and the Welsh coast and the occasional game of Badminton.
 

Professor Chris Hopkins, Consultant Clinical Scientist and Honorary Professor, Swansea University

Professor Chris Hopkins FAHCS, FIPEM, CSci, CEng is a Consultant Clinical Scientist, an Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science at Swansea University, and an Honorary Professor in the Wales Institute of Science and Art. He is currently Head of TriTech & Innovation in Hywel Dda University Health Board and Clinical Director within the Assistive technologies and innovation centre, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David.

Professor Dean Harris, Colorectal Surgeon, Swansea Bay University Health Board

Professor Dean Harris is the Deputy R&D Director at Swansea Bay UHB and vice chair of the Joint Scientific Research Committee. He is a consultant colorectal surgeon in SBUHB, Lead Clinician of the Colorectal Cancer MDT and clinical lead for the Wales Cancer Industry Forum. He is on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme fuelling his interest in MedTech innovation.

In 2013, he became an honorary clinical professor in Swansea University Medical School and has won over £2M in academic funding. He is co-founder and clinical director of CanSense, translating a reagent-free colorectal cancer serum diagnostic for the NHS.

Rebecca Cook, Chief Data Officer, Digital Health and Care Wales

Rebecca is an accomplished Health Informatics professional with over 18 years’ experience working in a national informatics organisation specialising in data management. She took on the role of NDR Programme Director in June 2021. The NDR (National Data Resource) is a programme that aims to make it easier to connect health and care data to improve the ability to access, move, link and utilise data across Health and Care in Wales.

Rob Simkins, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Carers Wales

Rob is the Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Carers Wales, the national campaigning charity for unpaid carers. He is responsible for ensuring the voices of unpaid carers in Wales are heard at the highest level of policymaking in Wales and across the UK.

Ruth Crowder, Chief Allied Health Professions Advisor Welsh Government

Ruth Crowder was appointed to the role of Chief Allied Health Professions Adviser for Welsh Government in February 2018. She advises Welsh Government and ministers on the 13 Allied Health Professions (AHPs) in Wales.

Ruth qualified as an occupational therapist in Cardiff in 1983 and has practiced in both the NHS and social services. She has worked as a lecturer in Cardiff University and as a policy officer for the Royal College of Occupational Therapists. She has a keen interest in preventative and enabling services that enable people to live as independently as they can for as long as possible. 

Ruth Jordan, Spread and Scale Progamme Director, Dragon's Heart Institute

Ruth is a quality improvement specialist with over 20 years’ experience in the South Wales health system. Starting as a physiotherapist, she transitioned to managing major transformation programmes. As Cardiff and Vale UHB’s Assistant Director of Improvement, Implementation, and Spread, she helped establish the successful Spread and Scale Academy under the All Wales Intensive Learning Academy. Now the Spread and Scale Programme Director at the Dragon’s Heart Institute and a Fellow of the Billions Institute, Ruth co-leads the academy, training teams on large-scale change leadership, empowering them to spread innovation and best practices to benefit as many people as possible.

Simon Jones, Chair, Digital Health and Care Wales

Simon Jones began his career in the trade union movement working for the T&GWU and the Wales TUC. He was Chief Executive of the Wales Co-operative Centre (now Cwmpas) for 10 years and before retiring was the UK Director of Policy and Public Affairs for Marie Curie. He has also worked in the private sector.

He has held a number of public appointments in NHS Wales and outside including being a member of the Charity Commission Board. He has held a number of leadership roles in NHS Wales, first as a member of South Glamorgan Health Authority, then as Vice Chair and Chair of Bro Taf Health Authority, and until December 2008 he was Chair of Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust. During this time, he was lead Trust Chair and also Chair of the Welsh NHS Confederation.

Simon Jones, Head of Policy and Campaigns, Mind Cymru

Simon has over twenty years experience working in policy, public affairs and communications, holding a variety of senior roles. He has been Head of Policy & Campaigns at Mind Cymru since 2018, leading all of Mind’s policy and campaigning work in Wales.  His previous roles include Head of Communications at Sport Wales and Policy and Public Affairs Manager at NSPCC Cymru/Wales. He started his career working for a Member of Parliament in Westminster following a degree in political studies from Aberystwyth University.
 

Sinaed Pollard, Service Manager, British Red Cross

Joining the British Red Cross 7 years ago as a support worker, Sinead has worked her way through to her current role. Sinead is responsible for the emergency department, resettlement and wellbeing support services at University Hospital of Wales, Morriston Hospital and the Grange University Hospital along with its Patient Transport Clinical Service. 

Sinead is passionate about the services the British Red Cross offers to some of the most vulnerable through the foundation of kindness.

Sioned Williams, Carer Aware Project Coordinator, Carers Trust Wales

Sioned has recently joined Carers Trust Wales as the Carer Aware Project Coordinator for the Carer Aware Project. She will be working with institutions delivering health care training and CPD for registered health care professionals in Wales, developing resources to promote carer awareness for health care professionals as well as improving unpaid carer’s experiences within the health care setting.  I am looking forward to making a real difference to the lives of Carers in Wales.
 

Sue O'Leary, Director, Mind Cymru

Sue leads Mind’s work in Wales, working with Local Mind leaders and partners. She chairs the Wales Alliance for Mental Health, to influence government and the mental health system in Wales. Sue also leads the Time to Change Wales campaign, to tackle discrimination and stigma within diverse and disadvantaged communities, in partnership. Sue’s background is in Criminal Justice, where she held senior leadership roles in the Prison Service, Probation Service and Ministry of Justice. 

Will Beer, Consultant in Public Health/Assistant Divisional Director, Primary and Community Care, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board

Will Beer is a Consultant in Public Health and Assistant Divisional Director for Primary & Community Care Services in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.  Will was born in Cardiff and completed a Master in Public Health at the University of the West of England.  He completed specialist registration with the UK Public Health Register in 2015 and received a Fellowship from the Faculty of Public Health.  He has worked in NHS public health across South East Wales for 25 years and has a special interest in primary care and health inequalities.

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