Advisory board

Dedicated board of 20 health & social care specialists in managing long-term conditions.

• Dr David Colin-Thomé OBE (Chairman)

  Directorate of Commissioning and System Management, Department of Health

• Carol Cochrane, Chief Executive

  The Princess Royal Trust for Carers

• Keren Down

  Director of Foundation for Assistive Technology (FAST)

• Peter Gilroy

  Chief Executive, Kent County Council

• Angela Hawley

  Self Care Lead — Long Term Conditions Team Directorate of Commissioning and System Management, Department of Health

• Tracy Morton

  Long Term Conditions Team Directorate of Commissioning and System Management, Department of Health

• Professor Jonathan Tritter

  Professor in Patient and Public involvement and Special Advisor, The NHS Centre for Involvement

• Heidi Wright

  Head of Practice, Practice and Quality Improvement Directorate, The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

• Paula Dearing

  Head of Development and Commissioning for Long-Term Conditions, NHS Leeds

• Jeremy Porteus

  DH Care Networks, Putting People First Programme, Department of Health

• Louise Giles

  Head of Long-term conditions & unscheduled care, NHS Central Lancashire

• Bryan Kessie

  Programme Lead, National Priorities, Workforce Project Team, NHS Employers

• Mike Farrar CBE

  Chief Executive, NHS North West

• Jo Harding

  Long-Term Conditions, NHS West Midlands

• Heather Ballard

  Service Development Manager, NHS East of England

• Karen Tanner

  Associate Director of Patient Care, NHS South West

• Lorraine Wright

  NHS East Midlands

• Alison Lorimer

  Long Term Conditions Programme Manager, NHS South East Coast

• Anna Morton

  NHS Yorkshire and the Humber

• Adrian Sieff

  Assistant Director, The Health Foundation

Dr David Colin-Thomé OBE (Chairman), Directorate of Commissioning and System Management, Department of Health

David has been a GP since 1971 and is senior partner at Castlefields Health Centre Runcorn. His practice has been leading-edge nationally over the last 10 years or so, pioneering systematic management of long-term conditions employing managed care techniques.

David has considerable experience in the public sector having spent eleven years as a councillor and formerly senior medical officer at the Scottish Office and Director of Primary care at North West and London Regional offices. He also has been on many overseas advisory visits specialising in primary care development.

• He publishes regularly on primary care reform
• Honorary Visiting Professor, Centre for Public Policy and Management at Manchester University
• Honorary Visiting Professor, School of Health, University of Durham
• Adviser to Central Manchester University Hospital
• He is a devoted Everton supporter
• Married to Christine, two children Mark and Jill, grandfather to Amber, Jacob, Luca, Ryan and Beth

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Keren Down, Director of Foundation for Assistive Technology (FAST)

Keren has an educational background in English Literature and Fine Art, work experience in user involvement and health and social care provision and voluntary sector experience of community development. Before joining FAST, Keren worked as a Care Co-ordinator at the Motor Neurone Disease Care and Research Centre, King's College Hospital and has experience of brokering services for users, facilitating effective multi-disciplinary teams and building links between acute and community services.

Keren moved on to initiate and implement the BUILD project funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The project found that people with motor neurone disease, despite being severely disabled and living with a terminal illness, had the motivation and capacity to become involved in planning the services they received. Working closely with service users in their own homes, and developing the first UK online forum run by people with MND, Keren has a good understanding of the users' perspective of assistive technology services and desire for participation in service planning.

Keren became Director of FAST in 2004 and has steered FAST through an exciting phase of development which has seen the organisation developing its role as the executive body of the pan-sector Assistive Technology Forum and as a leading standards setting organisation in Assistive Technology. FAST draws together expert opinion to develop strategic guidance on developments in service provision for assistive technology.

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Peter Gilroy, Chief Executive, Kent County Council

Peter is the Chief Executive of Kent County Council and his career has taken him into the public and private sector in the UK and USA. He has worked in Health and Social Care and was Strategic Director of Social Services in Kent before becoming Chief Executive. As Director, Peter took a leading roll on issues related to Drugs and Alcohol and Child Protection. He chairs the South East Centre for Excellence and has a national reputation for innovation. His drive is for outcome based innovation and effectiveness in the public sector. Peter is a member of the Advisory Board for the World Health Care Congress, chairs the Kent Film and Television Board and is a member of the County Executives of America. He has recently been invited to become a member of the Society of Industry Leaders and has just launched an exciting broadband channel, KentTV.com. He took the lead with the Health Service in Kent in commissioning what is now Europe’s largest telehealth pilot – with a thousand people expected to be involved by the middle of the year. He has also been invited to join the Health Innovation Council led by Lord Darzi. Peter has a number of external interests as well, including film and music.

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Angela Hawley, Self Care Lead – Long Term Conditions Team Directorate of Commissioning and System Management, Department of Health

Policy Lead for Self Care at the Department of Health in the long term conditions team, with particular responsibility currently for working with health and social care professional and regulatory bodies to encourage support for individual’s empowerment and self care.

After a number of administrative posts in the private sector, Angela joined Yorkshire Regional Health Authority as a Business Manager in Performance Management in 1994, transferring to the Department in 1996. Angela has worked on a variety of projects focussing mainly on employment issues for NHS staff, including regulation of doctors and the establishment of the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board.

Angela joined the Primary Care Team in August 2004 and has been responsible for promoting support for self care within policy development across all parts of the Department. Outside work Angela is a Business Mentor for 15-16 year old students and was nominated Business Mentor of the Year 2005 by Leeds City Council. She is married with two children aged 11 and 8.

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Tracy Morton, Long Term Conditions Team Directorate of Commissioning and System Management, Department of Health

Tracy is a Senior Policy Manager in the Long Term Conditions Strategy Team within the Commissioning and System Management Directorate in the Department of Health. She has been a career civil servant for 15 years, working in Workforce Statistics, in Public Health developing the Our Healthier Nation policy and in the Finance and Investment Directorate developing and implementing policy on NHS Income Generation. Her current role involves the implementation of case management and personalised care planning for people with long term conditions.

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