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BackupV1 > About SSNAP > SSNAP Steering Group

The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) is overseen by the Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party (ICSWP). The Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party (ICSWP) is a group of senior representatives from the professional bodies involved in stroke care, as well as the voluntary sector and patient voice representatives.

The ICSWP meet 3-4 times per year and act as a national expert resource for all aspects of the healthcare and clinical management of people who have had or are at risk of having a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA).

ICSWP roles:

Producing a national clinical guideline for all aspects of stroke care.
Setting up, running, and providing governance and oversight for the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP).
Supporting the Stroke Peer Review scheme. More information about the Stroke Peer review scheme can be found here.
Advising on current and future projects and plans for improving stroke care across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The ICSWP follows the NICE declarations of interest policy available at this link.

Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party membership

Group representing	Member
Chair, King's College London Stroke Programme	Professor Martin James Consultant Stroke Physician at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, Honorary Clinical Professor at the University of Exeter Medical School, and Clinical Director, King's College London Stroke Programme. Professor Martin James is Consultant Stroke Physician at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, and Honorary Clinical Professor at the University of Exeter Medical School. After training in Southampton, he completed his research in hypertension in the elderly with Professor John Potter and the late Professor John Swales in Leicester. He was appointed as physician in medicine for the elderly in Exeter in 1997, assuming responsibility for the stroke service shortly afterwards. The East Devon Stroke Service was awarded NHS Beacon status in 2000. He is a past-president of the British Association of Stroke Physicians, and his continuing research interests include methods for improving the delivery of hyperacute treatments for stroke and the prevention of recurrent stroke. He is Clinical Director of the Stroke Programme at King’s College London since 2019.
Association of British Neurologists	Professor David Werring Professor of Clinical Neurology, Stroke Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. Professor David Werring is Professor of Clinical Neurology and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the Stroke Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. Professor Werring delivers hyperacute and acute stroke care and runs a specialist clinical service and research program in intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel disease. He is Chair of the Association of British Neurologists Stroke Advisory Group, Stroke Specialty Lead for the NIHR North Thames Clinical Research Network, Secretary of the British Association of Stroke Physicians, Expert Advisor to the NICE guideline centre, and Chair of the UK Stroke Forum.
Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Neurology (ACPIN)	Professor Sarah Tyson Professor of Rehabilitation, Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester. Professor Sarah Tyson is a physiotherapist and Emertisus Professor of Rehabilitation at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on stroke rehabilitation particularly balance and mobility problems, rehabilitaiton technologies and the organisation of rehabilitation services. She has over 200 publications and £5million of research funding from the Dept of Health, NIHR, research councils, medical charities, professional bodies and the Knowledge Transfer Partnership/Technology Strategy Board. Her research has impacted on stroke and physiotherapy services nationally and internationally with inclusion in national clinical guidelines and production of assessment tools that are used throughout the UK and globally.
British and Irish Orthoptic Society (BIOS)	Professor Fiona Rowe Professor in Orthoptics, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool. Professor Fiona Rowe is a Professor in orthoptics and health services research at the University of Liverpool. She is associate-editor-in-chief for the journal Strabismus, Cochrane Eyes and Vision group editor and a mentor for the National Institute of Health Research clinical academic research pathway. Her particular research interests include visual impairment due to acquired brain injury (particularly stroke), visual field evaluation and control of ocular alignment. Prof. Rowe is the author of two textbooks: ‘Clinical Orthoptics’ and ‘Visual fields via the visual pathway’, co-author on seven book chapters, and has presented and published her research extensively.
British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians (BASP)	Professor Gillian Meed President of BIASP; Professor of Stroke and Elderly Care Medicine, University of Edinburgh; Honorary Consultant Physician, NHS Lothian. Professor Gillian Mead is Professor of Stroke and Elderly Care Medicine at University of Edinburgh and Honorary Consultant Physician in NHS Lothian. After training in Cambridge, she did her MD at University of Manchester where she set up a trial of carotid endarterectomy in acute stroke. She completed her clinical training in Edinburgh and was appointed Senior Lecturer in 2000. Since then she has developed an internationally acclaimed programme of research in life after stroke, including fatigue, exercise and recovery; she has published over 180 papers, and has been awarded several prizes for her work including the Lady Illingworth Award from Tenovus Scotland in 2020. She Co-leads Cochrane Stroke and is President Elect of British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians.
British Dietetic Association	Ms Cara Lewis Stroke Dietitcian, Nutrition and Dietetics, St Thomas' Hospital. Ms Cara Lewis is the Stroke Dietitian for the acute stroke unit at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. She is also a member of the UK Stroke Forum’s scientific committee, co-founder of the London Stroke Dietitians Community of Practice and Chair of the Stroke Working Party within the British Dietetic Association’s Neurosciences Specialist Interest Group.
British Geriatrics Society	Dr Khalid Ali Senior lecturer in Geriatrics and Stroke Medicine, Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Dr Khalid Ali is a Senior lecturer in Geriatrics and Stroke Medicine (Brighton and Sussex Medical School), Ageing research lead in Kent, Surrey and Sussex Clinical Research Network (KSS-CRN), scientific abstracts editor ‘Age and Ageing’ journal, and ‘Personalised Medicine Champion’ representing the UK Ageing Research Specialty group. He research interests are ‘medication-related harm in older people post-hospital discharge’, and ‘creative models of rehabilitation in stroke survivors’. He was a Guideline Development Group member for ‘Rehabilitation after Stroke Guidelines’ published by NICE in 2013, and a current member of the NICE Update of ‘Rehabilitation After Stroke Guidleines’ in 2021.
British Psychological Society	Dr Shirley Thomas Associate Professor in Rehabilitation Psychology, Division of Rehabilitation and Ageing, University of Nottingham. Dr Shirley Thomas is an associate Professor in Rehabilitation Psychology at the University of Nottingham. Shirley is a Health Psychologist and one of the British Psychological Society Representatives. Her current research focuses on the assessment and treatment of mood problems following stroke. She has a particular interest in making mood assessments and psychological interventions accessible for people with aphasia. She has recently completed an NIHRHTA funded feasibility trial of behavioural activation for depression after stroke. She collaborates on a range of research projects related to psychological impacts of stroke.
British Psychological Society	Dr Mark Griffiths Consultant Lead Clinical Psychologist & Head of Psychology, Liverpool Heart & Chest NHS Foundation Trust. British Psychological Society roles: Committee Member, Faculty of Clinical Health Psychology; Policy Unit member, Division of Neuropsychology; Chair, Psychology in Physical Health Group. Association of Clinical Psychologists, UK roles: Co-Chair, Clinical Health Psychology Network and Co-Chair, Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Sub-group. Dr Mark Griffiths began his clinical career in 1998, working in Older Peoples Psychology & Neuropsychology services. His whole career, since this time, has been spent working in the areas of clinical health psychology and neuropsychology, working across multiple areas of physical health, including many years of working in (and clinically leading) brain injury and stroke rehabilitation services. Between 2013 and 2020 he led a large department of Clinical Health Psychology Services at Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, developing a stroke neuropsychological rehabilitation pathway (as part of the Liverpool stroke recovery partnership) during this period, which has since gained national recognition. Mark was Psychology Advisor to the national Stroke Programme from 2018 to 2021 and was Chair of the ‘Psychological rehabilitation & support’ working group, under the NSP Rehabilitation workstream. He has been in his current role at Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital (a provider of specialist services in cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology & respiratory medicine) since January 2020 and is actively involved in regional transformation work under the NHS Long Term Plan. He is a member of the Policy Unit of the Division of Neuropsychology (British Psychological Society), a committee member of the Faculty of Clinical Health Psychology (British Psychological Society) & the Co-Chair of the Clinical Health Psychology Network (Association of Clinical Psychologists, UK).
British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine / Society for Research in Rehabilitation	Professor Diane Playford Professor of Neurological Rehabilitation/Honorary Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Health Sciences, Warwick Medical School. Professor Diane Playford trained in Neurology and then specialised in Neurological Rehabilitation. Having worked for many years at the Institute for Neurology, UCL, and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH Foundation Trust where she led the inpatient rehabilitation service she now works at Warwick University and the Central England Rehabilitation Unit, South Warwickshire Foundation Trust. Her research interest focus on rehabilitation processes, interventions and outcomes, including goal setting, care pathways, and the use of measures.
College of Paramedics	Mr Joseph Dent Advanced Practitioner, Salford Royal Hospital and Lead for stroke at College of Paramedics (British Paramedic Association). Mr Joe Dent, MCPara, MSc, Post grad Cert, BSc, is an Advanced Clinical Practitioner for Stroke, working at the Salford Royal Hospital. He is also Lead for Stroke at the College of Paramedics and the education lead for stroke for the stroke Pre-hospital group. Joe has worked in healthcare for 30 years, 26 of those spent working for the ambulance service. In his current role at Salford Royal, Joe is developing a training package for Universities and Ambulance trusts to improve education around pre-hospital identification and treatment of strokes, with more content being added each year. Joe has an interest in data sharing and Leadership and is a working party member and scientific member for the UK Stroke Forum. Joe has also been involved with the new design of the NHS website.
Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT)	Dr David Hargroves National Clinical Lead for Stroke, Getting it Right First Time & Urgent and Emergency Stroke Care Work Stream Lead, Clinical Policy Unit, both for NHS England & NHS Improvement. Consultant Stroke Physician and Clinical Lead for Stroke, East Kent Hospital University Foundation Trust & NHS England and NHS Improvement – South East (Kent Surrey Sussex). Dr David Hargroves graduated from University College London MBBS BSc (Hons) and gained his Masters from Kings College London with a research thesis titled 'Effects of position upon cerebral oxygenation in the acute phase post stroke using Near Infrared Spectroscopy' during his general medicine, geriatric and stroke fellowship training. David has been a stroke consultant at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) Stroke Service for the past 14yrs. Dr Foster and Care Quality Commission (CQC) have ranked it the top performing stroke service in the England. David was elected to the British Association of Stroke Physicians (BASP) Education & Training Board in October 2011 and Chaired this group until 2017. David was the winner of the prestigious 2017 Life after Stroke Award for Professional Excellence from the Stroke Association. He is clinical lead for the Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) stroke programme for NHSE/I and leads the urgent and emergency care stroke work stream and co-chairs the Thrombectomy Implementation Group (TIG), both for the clinical policy unit for NHSE. David has co-written the GIRFT national stroke report (due 2021) and co-produced the National Stroke Service Model (NSSM) and the National Optimal Stroke Imaging Pathway (NOSIP), which incorporates the use of Artificial Intelligence software as a decision support aid. David has been local Principal Investigator for over 18 international clinical trials and has a particular research interest in: Use of advanced imaging in hyper acute stroke care; Obstructive Sleep apnea and neurovascular disease; Telemedicine use in Stroke care; medication compliance and adherence in patients with neurovascular disease; stroke telemedicine.
Health Economics Researcher	Professor Anita Patel Director of Health Economics & Consulting, UEA; Director of Health Economics & Evaluation, Ipsos UK; Director, Anita Patel Health Economics Consulting Ltd. Professor Anita Patel is a health economist. She has worked as a researcher for nearly three decades, examining whether various new treatments and care arrangements provide good value for money given the limited resources that are available in health services. Many of those evaluations have provided underpinning economic evidence for national clinical guidelines. She has worked on many evaluations of innovations in stroke care, as well as other complex conditions that are similarly challenging to manage such as severe mental illness. She recently led work to estimate the economic burden of stroke to UK, highlighting the enormous societal challenges that stroke will continue to present in the future. In her current role at the University of East Anglia, she leads a health economics consulting group that evaluates various health care innovations. In a parallel role at Ipsos, she oversees health economics evaluations of national-level health policies and programmes.
Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP)	Mr Drew Smith Associate Director for Quality and Development, Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP). Drew Smith is an Associate Director for Quality and Development at HQIP where he leads a portfolio of national projects from the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme. His background is in health and social care regulation having worked for the Care Quality Commission for a number of years. During this time he led multiple analytical programmes to improve the quality of care people receive.
King's College London	Professor Charles Wolfe Professor of Public Health, Department of Population Sciences, King’s College London. Professor Charles Wolfe is Head of the School of Population Health and Environmental Sciences for King’s College London and Director of R&D at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust. He was appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator in 2008. Charles’s research interests have predominantly been in the public health and health services research aspects of stroke. He established a community based South London Stroke Register (SLSR) in 1988 that has been maintained ever since for various programmes of work. The focus of the epidemiology has been on estimating acute and longer term needs of stroke, the risk of stroke in a multi ethnic community and developing chronic disease register methodology. The SLSR has been used as a sampling frame for trials of early supported discharge after stroke, secondary prevention, carer support and qualitative studies.
King's College London Stroke Programme	Dr Ajay Bhalla Consultant Stroke Physician and Lead Clinician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, London and Associate Clinical Director, King's College London Stroke Programme. Dr Ajay Bhalla is a Consultant Stroke Physician and Lead Clinician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital. He is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at King’s College London and is a member of the South London Stroke Register where his contributions centre around health service stroke research. He is currently Specialty Lead for Stroke at the Clinical Research Network in South London. He has previously been chair of the Clinical Standards Committee (2014-2017) at the British Association of Stroke Physicians and contributed to a number of nationally led stroke standards. Ajay was appointed to the Associate Clinical Director Role, SSNAP in July 2019.
King's College London Stroke Programme	Dr Rebecca Fisher Stroke Association Senior Lecturer at the University of Nottingham and Associate Director, King's College London Stroke Programme. Dr Rebecca Fisher is Associate Director (Post-Acute) with the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) leading on the development and delivery of the post-acute elements of SSNAP. Rebecca also works nationally as the Rehabilitation and Life After Stroke Workstream lead with oversight of implementation of the NHS Long Term plan. Dr Fisher is a Stroke Association Senior Lecturer at the University of Nottingham. Her expertise is in the implementation and evaluation of complex interventions in real world settings. Rebecca’s current research includes investigation of Early Supported Discharge and Community Stroke services across the UK and organisation of hospital-based stroke rehabilitation services.
King's College London Stroke Programme	Dr Andrew Hill Consultant Stroke Physician, CCIO for St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals; Project Director for the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme Data Science Project. Dr Andrew Hill has been clinical lead for stroke at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals since 2014. He has an interest in health informatics and in the use of data to drive quality improvement, in particular working with the SSNAP dataset to deliver clinical improvements in stroke care. Since 2019, he has also undertaken the role of Chief Clinical Informatics Officer, and has a particular interest in how we can deliver improvements to stroke care through improving digital maturity in the NHS, and provides clinical informatics insight to the group.
Lay Representative	Ms Marney Williams Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party Lay Representative. Ms Marney Williams had a stroke in 2009, a result of carotid dissection. She received thrombolysis treatment and has since made a good recovery. Because she initially suffered from aphasia, Marney volunteers as a conversation partner for stroke patients on her local stroke unit at Imperial NHS Heathcare Trust. As a teacher, Marney has a strong commitment to education and research. She has previously been a member of the UK Stroke Forum Committee and instigated and funds annually the UKSF prize for excellence in PPI/E in research. Co-delivers public involvement training at Imperial College, London. Lay member NIHR CRN:stroke NIHR and Stroke Association reviewer Member NIHR Imperial BRC patient panel and Stroke Association Stroke Voices in Research panel Co-applicant on several stroke research studies
Lay Representative	Mr Danny Lloyd Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party Lay Representative. I have lived experience of stroke(S) further to an ischaemic stroke in 1995, aged 22, which resulted in the diagnosis of APS and a haemorrhagic stroke in 2013, aged 39. Both were because of APS (antiphospholipid syndrome), the second time was in conjunction with a CAPS event (catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome).
National Clinical Director for Stroke England	Dr Deborah Lowe National Clinical Director for Stroke, National Specialty Advisor for Stroke Medicine – GIRFT, NHSI. Consultant Stroke Physician, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Dr Deb Lowe was appointed as National Clinical Director for Stroke Medicine and NHSE&I in January 2020. She is responsible for clinical leadership and delivery of the Stroke Programme at NHSE and chairs the national Stroke Delivery Board. She has previously been joint National Clinical Lead for GIRFT Stroke Programmme and is now National Speciality Advisor within this team. She has also been Clinical Lead for Stroke within the Strategic Clinical Networks and Senate from 2014 – 2019. Dr Lowe is a Consultant Stroke Physician and Geriatrician on the Wirral. She graduated from Liverpool Medical School in 1997 and did her postgraduate medical training within Merseyside and Cheshire region. She has been a Consultant Stroke Physician and Geriatrician at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust since January 2006. She has held multiple managerial roles within her Trust over the last 10 years.
National Clinical Lead for Stroke Wales	Dr Shakeel Ahmad National Clinical Director for Stroke Wales, Consultant Stroke Physician, MBChB, FRCP. Dr Shakeel Ahmad was appointed as a Stroke Consultant in 2009. He has been the clinical lead for stroke in Cardiff & Vale University Health Board until he was recently appointed as National Clinical Lead for Wales. He has completed 1 year IHI Improvement Advisory fellowship at Boston, USA and has led on a number of successful QI projects. He led and collaborated on the ‘Stop A Stroke Project’ with Primary Care Quality & Public Health Wales to develop a tool to identify high risk stroke patients in AF that require intervention in line with up to date NICE guidance. This project was supported by Welsh Government and now we are implementing across Wales. His other current roles are, the Regional Specialty Advisor for Stroke, member of the Stroke Specialist Advisory Committee – RCP London, Training Programme Director for Stroke in Wales and Chair of All Wales.
National AHP Lead for Stroke Wales	Ms Niki Turner Welsh National AHP Lead for Stroke, Stroke Implementation Group (SIG), NHS Wales Health Collaborative; Acute Stroke Physiotherapy Team Leader, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Niki has worked as a physiotherapist in the acute stroke service at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board for over 15 years, and has particular interests in hyperacute stroke management including thrombolysis, thrombectomy and early rehabilitation after stroke. She completed an MSc in Neurorehabilitation in 2018 and published her work on physiotherapists’ experiences of early mobilisation after thrombolysis practice. Niki has been involved in developing the hyperacute stroke unit plans for Cardiff, as HASU Programme Manager and MDT Operational Clinical Lead, supporting development of the emergency stroke pathway and multidisciplinary care on the stroke unit. Niki is the National AHP Lead for Stroke in Wales and was recently appointed as Stroke Service Manager at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
Northern Ireland Multidisciplinary Association for Stroke Teams (NIMAST)	Dr Patricia Gordon Stroke Consultant, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.
Northern Ireland Multidisciplinary Association for Stroke Teams (NIMAST)	Ms Nicola Moran Clinical Physiotherapy Specialist in Stroke, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast. Ms Nicola Moran is a clinical physiotherapy specialist in stroke rehabilitation, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. For the majority of her 27 years as a physiotherapist, Nicola has worked in stroke care as a clinician and manager delivering rehabilitation across the whole pathway in a number of Trusts in England and Northern Ireland. Some of her proudest career achievements have been the development of an early supported discharge team in Portsmouth, being the first Allied Health Professional chair of the Northern Ireland Multidisciplinary Association of Stroke Teams (NIMAST) and winning the Northern Ireland Stroke Association Professional of the Year on two occasions. Nicola represents NIMAST on the NI stroke network , and has contributed to SSEF, the NI stroke nurse pathway and is currently a physiotherapy representative on NICE Stroke Rehabilitation Guideline committee.
Royal College of General Practitioners	Dr Iain Marshall GP partner, Greyswood Practice, London; Clinical Academic Fellow, King’s College London; RCGP Clinical Representative for Stroke. Dr Iain Marshall is a GP and researcher working in south London, with particular interests in evidence-based medicine and stroke. Iain completed his PhD in Public Health focusing on communicating risks around cardiovascular disease prevention in 2016, and is a clinical academic fellow in the stroke research group at King’s College London.
Royal College of Nursing	Ms Ines De Sousa De Abreu Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist for Rough Sleeping Initiative, Neuro-rehabilitation CNS, Brain injury and Neurovascular CNS, East Sussex Healthcare Trust; Neurosciences Forum Committee steering group member Ines is a Brain Injury, Neurovascular, Neurology and Neurorehabilitation Clinical Nurse Specialist, currently working with East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust as Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Rough Sleeping Initiative. Since her graduation in Nursing in 1993 Ines life has been marked for the holistic care and dedication to people with complex needs, in Acute Care, Neurorehabilitation, Community Care and Translational Clinical Research. I have been working successfully with people with a variety of complex needs, children, and adults. I have a wide experience of working in a variety of Countries and Specialities: Trauma and Emergency Medicine, Mental Health, HIV+/AIDS, Neurosurgery and Neurology, Neurorehabilitation and Community Care. In November 2019 I was appointed member of the RCN Neurosciences Forum steering committee. From May 2008 to 2016 I worked in Kings College Hospital in various roles. In Trauma and Emergency Medicine as a Staff Nurse and Trauma Research Nurse, acting as a Palliative Care and Mental Health Link Nurse. Ines was part of the first ever research nurse team in emergency medicine at King’s College Hospital and establish an integrated research nurse team aimed at supporting translational research nurses in critical illness and trauma: The Anaesthesia-Critical Care-Emergency Medicine & Trauma Research nurses (ACET nurse team). And, in August 2012 I joined the NIHR WT King's CRF Team as Senior Clinical Research Nurse, applying her various skills and wide experience in service development, on the setup and organisation of this brand-new unit focus in promoting and developing Translational Research. In July 2014 Ines joined the King’s College Hospital Brain Injury Team as Brain Injury and Neurovascular Clinical Nurse Specialist. The team works close with the MDT to provide holistic care and support to patients, their family and friends during their journey - from admission, through neurorehabilitation, discharge planning and reinsertion in the family and community, including people with complex social needs: homeless, immigrants, etc. Working together with a very skilled and enthusiastic Multidisciplinary Team, was a very positive experience. In this role Ines had the opportunity to “key work” applying her clinical and research experience skills and knowledge in Physical and Mental Health, which has been very useful on the care and support of people with Acquired Brain Injury or Neurovascular pathology, and their families. Ines role included proactively identifying adult and child safeguarding issues, and take immediate action as appropriate, and be a role model for other staff, delivering sensitive, comprehensive, and appropriate care to a diversity of people, demonstrating no prejudice. Ines integration on the Brain Injury Team has contributed to: empower and enhance the capacity of the team to support and improve patients experience and quality of care offered to those with BI and their families/friends in KCH as inpatient and outpatient; contribute on the development of BI and NV systems/pathway/procedures. Ines was part of the implementation of the "Shine Project" - promoting self-management on people with TBI. In 2016 Ines took a unique opportunity as Clinical Nurse Specialist in Neurorehabilitation, joining the Charing Cross Hospital and Community Team on a new Level 2 Neurorehabilitation Unit focus on the neurorehabilitation in Hospital and Community. During her time in Charing Cross led a Service Improvement Project. Furthermore, with other members of the Team Ines delivered training and supervision to junior Nurses and other members of the MDT, on ASSESSMENT and MANAGEMENT of Agitation / Challenging Behaviour in patients with Acquired Brain Injury. On April 2019 Ines joined the Wandsworth Community Neuro Team as a Neurology Clinical Nurse Specialist as an autonomous, advanced practitioner, delivering effectively an expert nursing service within the specialist area of community neurorehabilitation, managing a caseload of adults and people with neurological conditions, including Early Supported Discharge for stroke patients and support people with life limiting conditions, including EOL care. In March 2020, in the higher peak of the COVID 19 outbreak, Ines became a Senior Clinical Assessor within Bromley Healthcare Care Coordination Centre. As member of the MDT Ines actively contributed to the setup of the new Single Point of Access, Rapid Response, part of the reorganisation of services to manage the COVID-19 outbreak, linking health and social care services to support a safe discharge from Hospital and Safe Care in the community. This valued work was recognised by The MJ Local Government Achievement Awards 2021 – Integrated Health and Care Response to Covid19. Since January 2022 Ines joined the Rough Sleeping Initiative in East Sussex as Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist, providing specialist nursing care within the MDT that include Housing, Social Services and Mental Health professionals supporting Rough sleepers and Homeless People with Complex needs, including Brain Injury, Post-Stroke and other neurologic problems. In 2010 - 2011 Ines worked in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital - Stroke and Neurology Unit. As an experienced nurse Ines acted as charge Nurse in the absence of the Ward Manager and have been specially allocated to the complex patients, especially those with tracheostomy, the critically ill, disorders of consciousness, severe brain injury, and/or terminally ill. Ines was also responsible for supporting and supervising students and new qualified nurses in developing competence in specific clinical skills. From 1986 to 2010 Ines was involved with Sisters Hospitallers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an International Organisation, where Ines volunteered to work as a nurse in several countries: Portugal, Spain, Italy (1996 to 1999), Mozambique (2000 to 2005) and Angola (2006 to 2007) as Ward Manager, Nurse Practitioner and Project Manager, dedicating her time in these countries setting up and developing New Community Health Services for Children and Adults with Neurologic, Mental Health disorders and HIV/AIDS, some of those being homeless. During her time in Mozambique Ines opened and oversaw a Community Walk-In Centre dedicated to the treatment of Minor Injuries, Malnutrition, Malaria, and other tropical diseases. From 2001 Ines was responsible for setting up and organising a new Rehabilitation Unit for children with neurologic, and/or other congenital and acquired disorders. In collaboration with the “Community of St. Egidio” and other community-based agencies Ines led a New Project to diagnose and treat children affected by HIV/AIDS. This was the first project in Mozambique to use antiretroviral drugs in children. During 2005 Ines worked in Spain as project manager of the “Benito Menni” Foundation which main aim is support Development Projects relating to HIV/AIDS, mental illness, homeless and disabled children. These projects are especially built-in developing countries, such as Angola, India, Philippines, Colombia, Mozambique, Liberia, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and others. In 2006 Ines was sent to Angola to design and implement a new Project that included Health Promotion, Education, and Outreach Services in the community, particularly for the detection, treatment and social reintegration of people with Epilepsy and Mental Health Disorders, contributing to the reduction of Stigma and Misconception attached to these disorders. Ines goal in life is to provide the best care possible to those with different health problems, to achieve a good quality of life and dignity, incorporating patient's physical, social, spiritual, and mental health needs. Ines believes on developing a visionary and collaborative health service that serves the needs of an ageing population increasingly living with long-term conditions. Ines strives to support her colleagues and promote continuous development through leadership, facilitated learning, research and advanced clinical practice, using the pillars of continuously improving practice, critical thinking, complex decisions making, problem solving and value-based care. Ines truly believes that becoming a Healthcare Chaplain will allow her to fully use and share her wide experience and skills, and continuously expand her knowledge as well as improve her leadership and project management skills and expertise.
Royal College of Nursing	Dr Gill Cluckie Stroke Nurse Consultant, Neurology Department, St George's Hospital. Dr Gill Cluckie completed her nurse training at Glasgow University followed by an MSc at King’s College London. She completed her PhD in 2014 which investigated patient, carers and clinicians views on communication about thrombolysis treatment. She has worked in stroke care since 2000. Her current role encompasses the whole patient pathway including thrombectomy, hyper-acute care, inpatient care, research, outpatient stroke clinics, and community stroke prevention group. She is the principle investigator for a number of clinical research trials. Gill is the stroke care group lead for St. George's Hospital and joint London Clinical Director for Stroke. She is a nurse advisor to the London Stroke Clinical Leadership group and leads the London-wide stroke nursing competencies project. She is an honorary lecturer at University College London and a co-convener of a Stroke MSc module.
Royal College of Occupational Therapists / Specialist Section Neurological Practice	Ms Louise Clark Head of Occupational Therapy and AHP Lead for Stroke, Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust and Associate Director of the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme.
Royal College of Occupational Therapists / Specialist Section Neurological Practice	Professor Avril Drummond Professor of Healthcare Research and Occupational Therapist, School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham. Professor Avril Drummond is Professor of Healthcare Research at the University of Nottingham. She is an occupational therapist by background and has a longstanding interest in rehabilitation after stroke. She has published research on stroke units, specific rehabilitation interventions and service evaluations. Avril is a past Chair of the UK Stroke Forum and currently Chair of the Scientific Committee for the European conference on Life after Stroke. She is a trustee of the UK Stroke Association.
Royal College of Physicians	Professor Thompson Robinson Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Life Sciences, and Dean of Medicine, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester. Professor Tom Robinson undertook his medical training in Nottingham, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and Leicester, and was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Life Sciences and Dean of Medicine at the University of Leicester in April 2021. His research interests include clinical trials in acute stroke, particularly blood pressure and thrombolysis management, and studies of cerebrovascular regulatory mechanisms. He was appointed an NIHR Senior Investigator in 2016, and is currently the National Specialty Lead for Stroke for the NIHR Clinical Research Network.
Royal College of Radiologists	Professor Philip White Professor of Interventional and Diagnostic Neuroradiology, Translational & Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University. Phil White holds the Chair of Interventional and Diagnostic Neuroradiologyat Newcastle University. He is the (Co-)Principal Investigator of multiple randomised controlled trials in ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke— amongst a wide portfolio of on-going trial and neuroimaging research. 2009-15 he was Chair of the Acute Clinical Studies Group of the UK Stroke Research Network. He represents the Royal College of Radiologists on the Intercollegiate Working Party in Stroke. He also represents British Soc. of Neuroradiologists (BSNR) on the stroke service peer review programme. He chaired the BSNR Standards subcommittee 2008-2014. He is current Chair of the UK Neurointerventional Group (2019-22). He chairs the European Society of Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy Education Committee and is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery. He is a member of NHS England Thrombecotmy oversight an dimplementation groups and a member of their Neuropsicences clinical reference group. He is a specialist advisor to a number of bodies – e.g. NICE, Wellcome and HTA – including on translational industrial projects.
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists	Professor Sue Pownall Head of Speech & Language Therapy and Clinical Lead in Dysphagia, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Professor Sue Pownall has been qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist since 1985 and has been working in Sheffield since 1989. Her clinical specialism is in the area of dysphagia and she has extensive experience of working with patients with dysphagia resulting from a range of medical conditions, across clinical pathways and from both acute and community settings. Sue is an active researcher with interest in assessment and treatment interventions for dysphagia and also educational approaches to skill sharing in dysphagia across professional boundaries.
Stroke Association	Dr Rubina Ahmed Associate Director of Systems Engagement, and Interim Executive Director of Locality Impact, the Stroke Association. Dr Rubina Ahmed is the Associate Director for Systems Engagement at the Stroke Association, where she oversees the portfolio of activity related to research funding, policy and influencing, and wider systems partnerships and engagement activity. She is also the interim Executive Director for Locality Impact as a job share with the Northern Ireland Director, to cover maternity leave. Rubina has a PhD in Immunology and MSc in Management and has worked in research funding, strategy and policy across the third sector and public sector.
Stroke Association	Mrs Juliet Bouverie Chief Executive of the Stroke Association. Mrs Juliet Bouverie has been Chief Executive of the Stroke Association since June 2016. The Stroke Association is the UK’s leading stroke charity promoting life after stroke. With a turnover of £35m per year and a staff team of 800, the organisation’s activities extend from funding stroke research, to providing services to stroke survivors and their families, influencing and campaigning for change, and educating and working to prevent strokes. There are 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK, yet stroke still remains the fourth single largest cause of death in the UK and second in the world. Juliet co-chairs the Stroke Delivery Programme Board with NHS England and is a member of the NHS Assembly. She is a World Stroke Organisation Board member and Fellow. She was recently awarded the Order of the British Empire Medal (OBE) in the Queen’s 2020 New Year’s Honours list. Prior to joining the Stroke Association, Juliet was at Macmillan Cancer Support for 16 years in a range of roles covering strategy, policy, research and HR. From 2011 – 2015 she was Executive Director of Services and Influencing with a staff team of 800 and a budget of £150m. She oversaw a programme of award-winning innovations and service design across the UK, and secured important government commitments to improve patient experience and post-treatment support through the 2015 Cancer Strategy for England. Prior to Macmillan, Juliet worked at the British Red Cross in strategy and service evaluation, the Community Development Foundation in fundraising, and a political consultancy. She was a trustee of the Long-Term Conditions Alliance and chaired the Cancer Patient Experience Board for University College London Hospital (UCLH) from 2011 – 2014. Juliet has a degree in Modern Languages in Oxford and a postgraduate diploma in management. She ran the London Marathon for the Stroke Association in April 2019.