Karen Middleton
Karen Middleton is Chief Health Professions Officer, Department of Health. Karen is the country’s most senior allied health professions advisor and leader of 76,000 allied health professionals in the NHS. Prior to taking on this role, Karen was Department's Health Professions Advisor.
Before joining the Department, Karen worked at the Directorate of Health and Social Care (DHSC) London. In this role, she developed primary care across the capital with a focus on allied health professionals. Karen's other previous roles include Associate Director for Primary Care, where she led a review of the community nursing service and allied services.In 1996 she managed a large user consultation project in Tower Hamlets, east London, and went on to develop the Disability Options Team, an inter-disciplinary service for people with physical disability.
Karen qualified as a chartered physiotherapist in 1985 and went onto specialise in musculoskeletal therapy.Karen completed the European Leadership Programme at the INSEAD graduate business school in 2004, and her masters degree in Consultation and the Organisation: a psychoanalytic approach in 2006. She became a Fellow of the Society of Orthopaedic Medicine in 1994, and taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in both Orthopaedic Medicine and Hydrotherapy.
Rachel Thibeault
Rachel Thibeault received her BSc in Health Sciences (Occupational Therapy) from Laval University (1979); her M.Sc. (Psychology) from Acadia University (1986) and her Ph.D. (Community Psychology) from the Université de Montréal (1991). She also did post doctoral studies at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles) and at the University of Aarhus (Denmark).
Now an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa, she specializes in Community-Based Rehabilitation, psychosocial care, and issues of meaning and social justice in health care.
Jackie Redding
Jackie Redding BSc, Associate Director of Service Delivery and Development
Following several years working in the HIV voluntary sector in Scotland Jackie has worked at THT for over five years initially as Regional Manager for THT Midlands and latterly as part of the operations directors'; team. Jackie has been involved in setting up the Community Testing Clinics and as someone living with Hepatitis C has been central to increasing THTs role in providing service for those infected with the virus.
Professor the Baroness Finlay of Llandaff
Professor the Baroness Finlay of Llandaff is responsible for the Palliative Care Bill, a private member bill that is going through Parliament (3rd reading in the House of Lords was 24 April 2007)
Ilora Finlay is a consultant in palliative medicine and chronic pain at the Velindre NHS Trust, Cardiff. She is also an Honorary Professor and Vice Dean of the University of Wales, College of Medicine. Professor Finlay is Director of the Institute of Medical Ethics and has served on several committees and advisory panels such as the Science Committee of Cancer Research UK and the Home Office Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs Act. She has had over 126 papers and seven books published and holds senior editorial positions for medical journals such as Lancet Oncology and the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. In 1996, Baroness Finlay was named Welsh Woman of the Year in recognition for her work in the field of palliative care. In 2001, she was appointed a people's peer in the first open contest for membership of the House of Lords
Sam Turner
Sam Turner, Development manager, National Council, part of Palliative Care is head of development at the National Council for Palliative Care. She manages the team at head office whilst fundraising and developing partnerships in order to increase the effectiveness of the organisation and develop more equitable palliative care services
Sam has a background in diversity issues, working to combat the discrimination of older people and ethnic minority communities at the Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity. She has also worked on several international research projects looking at the provision of health and social care for disadvantaged communities.Inga Warren, DipCOT, MSc
Inga Warren holds the post of Consultant Occupational Therapist in Neonatology and Early Intervention, at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. She is Director of the UK’s international NIDCAP* Centre (*Newborn Individualised Developmental Care and Assessment Programme), an advanced, family centred programme that promotes the development of high risk neonates.
Inga has worked in neonatology for 18 years as a clinician, educator and researcher. She actively participates in international networks, and has led research on pain with colleagues in the UK and Sweden. She has published articles in nursing, therapy and medical journals and textbooks, and edits a handbook on developmental care.
Inga began her career in mental health, soon moving from adults to children and adolescents at the Maudsley Hospital. Her journey towards neonatology has had many stops along the way including work with services specialising in behavioural disorders, neurology, learning disability, acute and community paediatrics, with diversions into management. She has also acted as an expert witness for children with birth injuries.
Inga is working with 16 neonatal units in the UK and Europe, training doctors and nurses to become expert observers of the complex interactions between babies, their environment and caregivers. Trainees describe this process as a revelation that changes their practice for life. As a consequence of the training they are able to adjust the way babies are cared for to reduce stress, involve and support parents, and create an environment suited to the expectations of the delicate developing brain.
