I joined the Aspen PPG following a recent recruitment
campaign for new members and hope that I can help to build on the achievements
the group has already made. I have quite a lot of local knowledge as I was born
and brought up in Gloucester and after some time away, I returned with my
family and have been here since 1986. I’m married, have three grown-up
daughters and three grandchildren, who I provide childcare for a couple of
times a week. I also have experience as a carer for my frail elderly parents, including
end of life care for my Dad who died recently and dementia care for my Mum.
I joined Aspen as a patient a few years ago when the
practice we had been registered with for over 30 years reviewed their catchment
area and we no longer fell within it. As a family, our “up-rooting” was quite unsettling,
but this has helped to give some insight into how it feels for patients joining
a new practice.
I trained as a nurse and a midwife but left clinical
practice many years ago having moved into NHS research in the 1990s. I have a
Professional Doctorate in Health Studies from Cardiff University and my thesis
explored how lay people develop expertise through experience which I believe is
an important consideration in healthcare. Although I am now retired, I still
work one day a week as a research adviser with the Diabetic Retinal Screening
research team based in Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, helping
to design research studies that will help to improve patient care. A key aspect
of my previous role was involving members of the public in the planning and
design of research studies to make sure the studies were more relevant to the
patient and their care.
I feel that offering staff and patients the opportunity to
take part in research are important to improving patient care, staff job
satisfaction and raises standards in professional practice. I would be
delighted to use my experience to support any practice aspirations to become
more research active.
I hope I can contribute to the practice from a wide perspective
as a patient, a carer and by using my knowledge of the NHS. I strongly believe
that patients should be empowered to make the most of the advice and care that
they are given by professionals. There are so many opportunities to improve the
health and well-being of the population in small ways – the mantra of making
each contact count is as important in primary care as anywhere else. We are all
on the same team .
