TVS - TRUSTEE BIOS 2020 LOW RES SPREADS

Tissue
Viability
Society
TVS Trustees
W: tvs.org.uk
E: tvs@tvs.org.uk

Trustee Biographies
Linda Primmer, Chair
Trustee since 2014
Linda is Community Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist in Edinburgh, East &
Mid Lothian for NHS Lothian. Her nursing career, spanning more than 35
years, has been focused on Tissue Viability, wound healing and burns
and plastics nursing.
Her experience has been gained within regional centres throughout the
UK and Saudi Arabia. Whilst in Saudi she developed and implemented
the role of Clinical Resource Nurse for Skin and Wound Care in a major
trauma hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. During this time, she was a
member of the TVS and attended the conference in Blackpool.
On returning to the UK she became a Tissue Viability Lecturer Practitioner
for East Anglia University and Kings Lynn/Wisbech Hospital NHS Trust.
Since 2004 she has been the Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist for
Edinburgh, East and Midlothian Integrated Joint Boards. Linda has been
a former Chair & active committee member of The National Association
of Tissue Viability Nurse Specialists Scotland. Linda has obtained MSC
Advancing Practice in Tissue Viability (2009).
Jeannie Donnelly, Vice Chair
Trustee since 2020
Dr Jeannie Donnelly qualified as a Registered Nurse in Belfast in 1988.
After a short period working in London, she returned to Northern Ireland
to work in the fracture trauma unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital, and
it was during her time in this specialty, that she became passionately
interested in wound healing and tissue repair. In 1996, Jeannie became
the first Tissue Viability Nurse in Ireland. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Health
Studies incorporating the RCN Nurse Practitioner Professional Award, a
Diploma in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair (Distinction) (Cardiff) and a
PhD from Ulster University.
As well as being the Lead Nurse for Tissue Viability within the Belfast
Health and Social Care Trust, Jeannie is an assistant lecturer within the
School of Nursing in Queen’s University Belfast.
Jeannie has authored and co-authored a number of scientific
publications in international peer-reviewed journals and has contributed
a number of chapters to books. She has been an EPUAP Trustee and
In 2017, was extremely honoured to chair the European Pressure Ulcer
Advisory Panel conference that took place in Belfast.
Jeannie is dedicated to pursuing excellence in the delivery of safe and
effective care and is passionate about improving the patient and client
experience. She has recently completed the Scottish Improvement
Leader Programme and enjoys supporting all bands of staff within her
Trust to undertake quality improvement initiatives.
Tina Chambers
Trustee since 2012
Tina has worked in a variety of clinical areas including surgical, medical,
intensive care, primary care, elderly care and rehabilitation. She has a
BSc (Hons) in Specialist Nursing Practice (Tissue Viability) and is currently
practicing as an independent Tissue Viability Consultant; prior to this she
was a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Tissue Viability in the NHS for 17 years.
Tina has 12 years’ experience of community and mental health in addition
to the acute issues of Tissue Viability.
Currently Tina is proud to be working with the Tissue Viability team
in Solent NHS Trust and is an active member of local formulary and
pressure ulcer strategy groups in Hampshire. She has worked with NHSI
in the Stop the Pressure Programme as a member of the steering group
and chair for the Definitions and Terminology in Pressure Ulcers Work
Stream and looks forward to contributing to the National Wound Strategy
Programme. She has been a member of the Tissue Viability Society for 29
years and is a past Chair and Vice Chair of the Society.
Tina has a keen interest in sharing and developing best practice in
order to improve patient safety and believes in keeping things simple
and practical. She has sought to find answers as to “the who” and “the
why” decisions are made and this has led to an interest in the politics of
wound care. She has worked with commissioner groups, strategic health
authorities and the Department of Health & Social Care in order to raise
awareness of tissue viability and to improve communications between
these organisations and Tissue Viability practitioners.
Ina Farrelly
Trustee since 2019
A specialist podiatrist, Ina currently works with Accelerate CIC a specialist
wound care and lymphoedema service located in East London.
She previously worked in the NHS for 17 years working alongside TVNs in
clinic while based in a specialist footwear service providing assessment
and provision of surgical footwear for a varied population.
She trained as a nurse in her native New Zealand and then retrained
in podiatry at CIT in Wellington NZ. She has worked in New Zealand,
Australia and Asia with a strong emphasis on biomechanics.
It was while working with TVNs here in the UK that it became apparent
to her the importance of mobility and the links between altered
biomechanics and wound healing. It has become her passion to engage
patients in increasing their mobility and other health professionals in
including this often neglected area in their treatment.
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Trustee Biographies
Sarah Gardner
Trustee since 2016
Sarah spent 39 years working within the NHS with much of this time in
the community. She worked for 18 years as a District nurse, community
practice teacher and clinical development lead, and the past 12 years
as clinical lead of a specialist Tissue Viability team. She obtained an MSc
in skin integrity, skills and treatment at the University of Hertfordshire
during this period and became a Queens Nurse in 2019. After re-locating
to beautiful Cumbria, Sarah now practises as an independent advisor/
educator through her own tissue viability consultancy business.
Sarah’s main area of interest is leg ulcers and she is determined to
improve the care given to people with lower limb conditions. As the
lead for lower limb care in her NHS role, she implemented a treatment
pathway framework for leg ulceration, for which she won a nurse of the
year award (trust specific) and a JWC award and has been fortunate
to be able to share this work through several journal publications and
conference symposia.
Sarah is currently vice chair for the Legs Matter coalition and a member of
the National Wound Care Strategy Programme (NWCSP) lower limb group.
She is passionate about improving the knowledge and skills of clinicians
delivering lower limb care, particularly that associated with therapeutic
compression and feels strongly that it is only through good education,
a nurturing culture and strong clinical leadership that this can be
achieved. Sarah also believes that raising patient and public awareness
of lower limb conditions (including leg ulceration) is essential for disease
prevention or early treatment intervention. She is delighted that the Legs
Matter campaign is helping to achieve this.
Jemell Geraghty
Trustee since 2016
Dr Jemell Geraghty, Lecturer in Adult Nursing and Tissue Viability Module
Lead, Florence Night-ingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative
Care, King’s College London.
With nearly 20 years of experience as a registered nurse working in tissue
viability, vascular, older adult medicine and emergency nursing, Jemell
has worked in primary and secondary wound care services and has been
connected with King’s College since 2011.
She was awarded a Professional Doctorate in Health Research (DHRes)
from the University of Hertfordshire in 2018; the thesis was entitled
Exploring the experiences of injecting drug users living with leg
ulceration a qualitative study. She has received several awards and
scholarships for her work and continues to campaign for wound and
vascular lower limb care to be recognised as a physical health need in its
own right within inclusion and homeless health.
Jemell has a particular interest in qualitative research methods and
narrative inquiry, specifically the stories of marginalised people living
with wounds. In 2019-2020 she led a wound care clinic for the homeless
population in London and is currently analysing the findings with the aim
of dissemination and peer-review publication. She sits on the editorial
board for the British Journal of Nursing, Tissue Viability panel and has
published and presented at na-tional and international level. Dr Geraghty
is passionate about inclusion health and addressing social and health
inequalities.
David Hibbitt MSc, DipM, MCIM, Chartered Marketer
Trustee since 2018
David is passionate about wounds, clinicians and patient outcomes. He
started his career working for 12 years within the NHS and then moved
into industry.
He has extensive experience at differing levels within sales and
marketing, at a UK, EU and global level, with the last 18 years working
with a high focus on wound healing. He is currently the Global Marketing
Manager for Advanced Medical Solutions, responsible for the ActivHeal
brand.
Board experience includes: Tissue Viability Society trustee, Vice Chair of
Barnsley Hospice since 2010, Trustee of the Lindsay Leg Club Foundation
and previously a School Governor. He holds an MSc in Marketing
Management, as well as being a Chartered Member of the Chartered
Institute of Marketing.
He has a thorough understanding of the UK wound care market and
has worked as part of the Eucomed/ EWMA Patient Outcome Group,
promoting wound care at an EU and national level.
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Trustee Biographies
Rachael Lee, Treasurer
Trustee since 2019
Rachael is the Clinical Pathway Lead for Integrated Care at Leeds
Community Healthcare NHS Trust - currently leading on the integration
of wound care across community and primary care. She qualified as a
registered nurse in 2009 from the University of Leeds.
Rachael worked in community nursing where she developed her
passion for wound care. Due to this interest, she progressed to become
a Tissue Viability Research Nurse.
Following this role, Rachael worked as a community Tissue Viability
Nurse Specialist in Leeds, before leading the Tissue Viability service
across hospital and community settings in Harrogate. She obtained an
MSc in Advanced Practice in 2018 at the University of Leeds and has a
particular interest in quality and research and prior to her current role,
Rachael worked as the Quality Lead for the Adult Business Unit in Leeds.
Rachael is passionate about educating, supporting and empowering
colleagues and patients in the prevention and management of wounds.
Natasha Levy
Trustee since 2020
Natasha is a Senior Lecturer in Podiatry at the University of Huddersfield,
where she has worked since 2010, leading combined clinical and theory
modules focussed upon the clinical assessment and management of
high-risk patients.
She is passionate about a holistic approach to tissue viability, ensuring
that the patient’s voice is heard. Her research and peer reviewing roles
are focused upon quality of life, tissue viability and wound care. She
is currently completing her PhD exploring the impact of below ankle
amputation on quality-of-life for people with diabetes.
Prior to her post at the University, Natasha worked for 13 years within
both acute and community NHS Trusts, her roles always focused upon
enhancing high-risk patient care. In 2004 she completed her Masters in
Clinical Practices, exploring the impact of diabetes and rheumatological
conditions upon tissue viability. She has worked within multi-disciplinary
foot care teams focused upon wound management and prevention of
recurrence of ulceration. As a Lead Podiatrist, Natasha undertook clinical
audits, exploring the benefits of multidisciplinary working for patients,
reviewing and creating care pathways to enhance patient experience
and care.
Liang Liu
Trustee since 2019
Dr Liang Qin Liu MD, PhD, FHEA received her PhD degree from University
College London (UCL) in 2007, when she completed her PhD project on
tissue viability for pressure ulcer prevention in people living with Spinal
Cord Injury (SCI) at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust.
She currently is a Research Fellow/Lecture in Centre for the Critical
Research in Nursing and Midwifery (CCRNM), Adult, Child and Midwifery,
Middlesex University, London. Dr Liu has a strong research interest in
pressure ulcer prevention in a variety of patient populations as well as
education for Healthcare Professionals. Prior to her current position, Dr Liu
worked as a postdoctoral Research Associate at UCL and Royal College of
Surgeons of England.
Over the last 15 years, Dr Liu has been working closely with clinicians and
academic partners and completed a large number of research projects
on tissue viability. She published many peer reviewed journal papers,
book chapters and conference proceedings.
Her research has been awarded numerous prizes and research grants
from Rosetree Trust. She has been a member of TVS since 2016 and was
awarded a TVS educational grant to attend EWMA 2018.
Sharon Neill
Trustee since 2020
Sharon qualified as a Registered Nurse in 2003. Her initial years as
a registered nurse were spent caring for patients undergoing renal
dialysis. She then moved into a community GP treatment room where
she developed her interest and passion for all things wounds and tissue
viability. Successfully getting her first appointment as a Tissue Viability
Nurse Specialist for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in 2011, she
was delighted to secure the role of Tissue Viability Team Lead in 2018.
As well as her clinical and managerial role, Sharon is a registered
teaching assistant with both of Northern Ireland’s Universities - Queen’s
University Belfast and Ulster University - teaching tissue viability related
theory and practice to undergraduate and post graduate students.
Sharon is a transformational leader who has a vision for improving
services and health outcomes for patients living with wounds. She is an
advocate for patient safety, quality improvement and evidence based
practice. Sharon is nearing completion of her MSc Advanced Professional
Practice, her dissertation is focused on the prevention of Medical Device
Related Pressure Damage.
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Trustee Biographies
Fran Spratt
Trustee since 2014
Fran is currently the Lead Clinical Nurse Specialist at University Hospitals
Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
Fran obtained an MSc in Advanced Practice - Tissue Viability from
Hertfordshire University in 2011.
Her primary focus is to ensure that any patient with a wound has both
the best possible management but also experience, which in a hospital
setting can be a challenge.
When starting out in Tissue Viability in 2008, she found the TVS an
invaluable source of information and support and wants to give
something back and help continue this excellent work providing an
accessible forum to share good practice.
She has an appreciation of current issues and a passion to improve
the profile of the speciality and the overall management of wounds to
ultimately improve the quality of care provided to patients.
She has a special interest in surgical wounds and the long term issues
these often cause for many patients.
Nikki Stubbs
Trustee since 2017
Nikki has spent most of her career working in community settings. As a
District Nurse, Nikki developed her love for wound care and became a
Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist in 2000. Having completed her MSc in
Evidence Based Practice in 2005 Nikki’s interest in wound care research
began. This led to the establishment of the first nurse-led wounds
research team in the UK.
Nikki collaborates with a number of Universities, recruiting to clinical trials
and supporting the embedding of research evidence into practice.
Having worked in the NHS for over 30 years Nikki has recently retired and
set up a consultancy business working with private industry and the NHS
to support wound care projects, safety initiatives and research.
Joanna Swan
Trustee since 2018
Jo qualified as an RN in 1994 and worked in liver surgery, medicine and
intensive care. Wanting to further expand her skills she moved into general
intensive care and, due to her interest in wound management, became
the tissue viability link nurse. Jo completed her BSc (Hons) in nursing
and gained a critical care outreach and acute pain management post
which expanded her knowledge and skills and an ability to work with a
variety of ward staff and members of the multidisciplinary team across a
large University hospital. These skills were instrumental in Jo successfully
gaining a Tissue Viability Specialist Nurse post in 2006 and, subsequently
the Lead Tissue Viability Nurse job in 2008. She has recently completed her
MSc in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair from the University of Cardiff.
Jo has a passion for empowering patients to be involved in their care and
in wound prevention. She has a particular interest in pressure ulcers and
prevention of surgical site infection.
Gill Sykes
Trustee since 2016
Gill has over 30 years of experience as a specialist podiatrist, working
to develop close links with the multidisciplinary team, Ion Wound
Management. Her main role is with vascular and critically high-risk
patients, taking part in joint clinics where she works alongside a vascular
consultant with a particular interest in tissue viability, an orthotist and an
amputee team.
Gill also undertakes the measurement and fitting of prescription
orthopaedic footwear in order to address the long-term prevention of
re-ulceration.
Much of her work is in co-ordinating care for patients with foot wounds,
working closely with district nursing teams in order to provide a seamless
journey for the patient between secondary and primary care.
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Trustee Biographies
Coopted Trustee Biographies
Connie Traynor
Trustee since 2017
Connie has long had an interest in tissue viability and wound repair.
She completed an MSc in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair at Cardiff
University. She has worked as a Plastics and Tissue Viability Nurse for 10
years.
Her current role as a Clinical Services Manager is within the Independent
Sector, BMI Ross hall Hospital in Glasgow. In this role she works closely
with Plastics and Tissue Viability to care for patients when complications
arise. She takes a proactive role in education having developed and
adapted sessions to meet the needs of her colleagues.
As a member of The National Association of Tissue Viability Nurse
Scotland (NATVNS) Connie has undertaken numerous roles within the
group including the Chair.
Clare Greenwood
Clare has worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in tissue viability at Leeds
Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for the last 10 years. Prior to that she worked
as a specialist in Negative Pressure Wound Therapy and as a Staff Nurse
in colorectal surgery.
She has an MSc in Nursing and a PGCert in Tissue Viability and is
currently completing her PhD at the University of Leeds. Her research
is looking in to how both Tissue Viability Nurses and nursing staff use
devices in clinical practice for the prevention of heel pressure ulcers.
The results of this research will not only inform practice but could also
influence future clinical trial design.
Clare is passionate about promoting nurse-led research, as well as
pressure ulcer prevention and the management of complex surgical
wounds.
Kate Williams
Trustee since 2018
Kate is a Wound Clinical Nurse Specialist with Leeds Community
Healthcare Trust. She qualified in 1998 with a BSc (Hons) in nursing from
Leeds Metropolitan University.
Kate worked in plastics in central London before moving into community
nursing.
Kate has worked in community tissue viability since 2004, working in
London, Mid Wales, Bradford and now Leeds.
Kate’s particular interest is in education and training,aiming to
up-skill and empower community nurses within the field of tissue viabilty.
Victoria Murray
Victoria works across the North Europe Region as Scientific Affairs and
Education Specialist focusing on skin integrity and wound management.
She has been with 3M in Australia, New Zealand, UK and North Europe
for over 15 years. In that time she has been involved in many aspects of
the business from new product introductions, research, business and
marketing strategies and always with a large focus on training and
edcuation both within 3M and to clinicians. Prior to that Victoria was
a Tissue Viability Nurse and District Nursing Sister where she led and
developed a leg ulcer service in the UK. She held a BSc (Hons) in Nursing
and Post Gradulate Diploma in Primary Care and keeps up to date with
continuing wound care courses and conferences.
Key areas of interest and attributes include:
• Recent completion of a six-sigma green belt training programme and
currently leading a project on training effectiveness
• Skin Integrity – has spent recent years focusing on Pressure Ulcers and
in particular MASD and IAD
• Passionate about using evidence-based and best practice principles
• Collaborating with international thought and key opinion leaders and
development of best practice guidance
She is passionate about using evidence-based and best practice
principles to educate and ultimately improve the lives of people living with
acute and chronic skin and wound care conditions. She firmly believes
that the prevention of skin breakdown is key and that it should remain our
number one priority.
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Coopted Trustee Biographies
Professor Jane Nixon
Jane is Professor of Tissue Viability and Clinical Trials Research and
Deputy Director at the Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Leeds,
UK.
Jane leads an internationally renowned National Institute for Health
Research (NIHR) funded programme of research in pressure ulcer
prevention and has delivered three large mattress trials as well as
applied health research in areas including pressure ulcer pain, severe
pressure ulcers, risk factors, risk assessment, and quality of life, with a
strong practice focus.
Jane is currently Immediate Past President of the EPUAP, has initiated
and leads a Wounds Research Network (WReN) in the UK and is past
Chair and Treasurer of the UK’s Tissue Viability Society. In 2016 she was
appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator and in 2017 was awarded an
MBE for her contribution to health research.
Samantha Wharton
Sam is a Tissue Viability Specialist Nurse at Buckinghamshire NHS Trust.
Sam initially started as a Community Nurse and moved into the field of
wound care in 2011 as a pressure ulcer nurse working within the tissue
viability team. She then went on to complete a BSc in tissue viability in
2015. Sam has also worked at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation
Trust as one of the epidermolysis bullosa Clinical Nurse Specialists.
She has recently returned to Buckinghamshire NHS trust and will be
starting her masters in tissue viability later this year.
Her passion is for patients to received holistic care - the whole of the
person not the hole in the person. She also has a particular interest in
pressure ulcers and harm prevention.