Clinical Influencer, Cohort 3

Dr. Claire Thomas, National Clinical Lead for Child Health, NHS Executive

With a portfolio career, Claire is the Clinical Lead for the Strategic Clinical Network for Child Health (NHS Executive Wales), Paediatric Lead for Child Death Review Programme (PHW) and Consultant Paediatrician working predominantly in safeguarding in Cardiff and Vale UHB and the South Wales Regional SARC.

As Designated Doctor for Safeguarding Children and Child Deaths for many years in both England and Wales she has led work improving processes in safeguarding within the NHS and with multi agency partners. Most recently she led and authored the revision of PRUDiC 23 (Procedural Response Unexpected Death in Children) on behalf of all Welsh Regional Safeguarding Boards and contributed to the Thirlwall Public Inquiry outlining child death processes in Wales.

Claire is Medical Co-chair of the Wales FJC Experts committee. Claire is passionate about improving outcomes for the children of Wales through multidisciplinary working and a rights-based approach to improvement in the NHS whilst ensuring the child’s voice is heard at the centre.

Claire’s is current work concerns development of minimum standards of care guidance which every child in Wales should receive from the NHS in Wales and establishing a baseline of definitions, consistent terminology and dis-aggregation of child data sets to enable better service development for babies, children and young people in Wales.

Clinical Influencer, Cohort 3

Dr. Paul Shaw, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Velindre University NHS Trust, Honorary Senior Lecturer Biosciences, Cardiff University

Paul works at Velindre Cancer Centre as a Thoracic Clinical Oncologist serving patients from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. He leads the R&D Lung Clinical Trials Portfolio and is a National Chief Investigator for BioNTech.

Paul set up the Velindre Early Phase Drug-RT trials work stream in 2018 and lead Arm C of the UK National platform CRUK funded Concorde trial. Other roles include Chief Scientific Officer of the UCL/UCLH proton beam HIT MESO study in mesothelioma, Chair of the Radiotherapy Trials Solutions Group and Co-supervisor for PhD/MD students.

Paul leads the School of Medicine MRC Equipment bid for a Small Animal Irradiator Platform (SARRP) to support future preclinical research towards the next generation of Drug- Radiotherapy combinations.

Paul’s professional interests include:

Clinical trials
Lung cancer
Radiation
Preclinical research
PhD & MD supervision
Encouraging colleagues to reach for their ambitions
Pastoral care for patients

Clinical Influencer, Cohort 3

Dr. Torsten Hildebrandt, Consultant Paediatrician, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Dr. Torsten Hildebrandt completed his postgraduate paediatric training in Germany and the UK. He has been a Consultant General Paediatrician at the Princess of Wales Hospital since 2006.

Torsten holds postgraduate degrees in Paediatric Palliative Care, Medical Leadership, Genomics and Rare Diseases. He has had various clinical and educational leadership roles within the NHS and HEIW.

Torsten’s professional interests include:

Integration of Genomics into mainstream General Paediatrics

Paediatric Rare Disease

Transition of complex Paediatric Patients into adult led services

Torsten lead a Bevan Exemplar Project in 2023-24, establishing a dedicated clinic for paediatric patients with rare conditions. He is currently part of a Bevan Exemplar Project Team improving transition of young people into adult care.

Clinical Influencer, Cohort 3

Sarah Cadman, National Programme Lead, Patient Safety Programme/ Acute and Crisis Care Programme, Strategic Programme for Mental Health, NHS Performamce & Improvement

Sarah was educated at the Welsh School of Occupational Therapy and has since gone on to carve out a career with a breadth of clinical experience across mental health services, having worked in hospitals, community and primary care mental health settings.

In recent years, Sarah has led on quality, safety and improvement in mental health and learning disabilities at Health Board level, forging strong networks with clinicians and people who use services to promote and develop good practice, informed by the latest research and evidence bases. Sarah completed an MSc in Leadership for the Health Professions in 2022 and has a strong interest in compassionate leadership in healthcare.

Having recently been appointed as a National Programme Lead in the Strategic Programme for Mental Health in the NHS Wales Executive, Sarah will be working with experts by experience and experts by occupation across mental health services in the NHS, other statutory organisations and non-governmental organisations/Third Sector partners to transform mental health services across Wales. In co-designing and producing a model of care which is needs-led, the quality of outcomes and experience for both people who use services and people who provide services will radically improve.

Clinical Influencer, Cohort 3

Dr. Sarah Browne, Consultant Nephrologist and Transplant Physician, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Dr. Sarah Browne joined the Nephrology and Transplant Department as a Consultant Nephrologist and Transplant Physician in January 2013. She is currently the Lead for Nephrology and also the co-lead for the Living Kidney Donor Programme in Cardiff Transplant Unit.

Sarah developed the Transplant Virology MDT and has responsibility for the Hepatitis C Positive Donor Kidney Transplant programme. She will be joining the WTCRG as lead for living kidney donation in December 2024 – to develop the Donation and Transplantation Strategy for Wales.

Her professional interests include:

Living Kidney Donation
Kidney Transplantation
Transplant Virology
Transplant Immunology

Clinical Influencer, Cohort 3

Dr. Ruth Johnson, Consultant in Acute Medicine, Clinical Lead for Acute Medicine, Prince Charles Hospital, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Ruth is a jobbing front door consultant trying to improve the system she works in for the benefit of all.

She is interested in ”keeping things simple: making it easy to do the right thing, and doing a good job for the patient in front of me”.

Clinical Influencer, Cohort 3

Dr. Russell Banner, MA, MBBS, MRCP, FRCR, MSc, Clinical Director, Cancer Services, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Swansea Bay University Health Board South West Wales Cancer Centre

Dr. Banner was appointed in 2013 as Consultant Clinical Oncologist in South West Wales Cancer Centre (SWWCC), initially specialising in Head & Neck and Urological cancers, but swapping Urology for Gynaecological cancers due to clinical need for 5 years and then Non-melanoma Skin cancers for a further 5 years before concentrating solely on Head & Neck alongside managerial responsibilities.

He is research active as PI on radiotherapy studies and most recently the first Cancer Vaccine Study in the SBUHB. TMG member on Proton Beam Therapy and PET Adaptive RT studies and CI on Digital Media RT planning study. Russell enjoys teaching as Clinical Supervisor and on Cardiff FRCR course as faculty member for over 12 years.

Russell was SWWCC Radiotherapy Lead (covering Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda) for 10 years, then Clinical Lead and is now Clinical Director for Oncology and Haematology in Cancer Services in Swansea Bay.

Previous committee roles: RCR (Heads of Service, Standing Welsh Committee), COSC (Clinical Oncology Sub-Committee, Welsh Scientific Advisory Committee), Welsh Cancer Network, Rutherford Cancer Centre Medical Advisory Board and Institute of Cancer Research.

Hi special interests include:

Head and Neck Cancer
Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer
Radiotherapy
Proton Beam Therapy
Cancer Vaccines
Clinical pathway and digital improvements

Russell developed Welsh ‘Time to Radiotherapy’ Quality Performance Indicators in his role at COSC following on from improvements initially made in the Adjuvant Head & Neck Radiotherapy pathway and then digital workflow development in SWWCC with Radiotherapy Software providers. ‘Time to Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment (SACT)’ metrics have been developed to mirror this.

Russell is seeking to plan for sustainable regional Radiotherapy and SACT delivery in South West Wales against annual increases in demand.

Clinical Influencer, Cohort 3

Dr. Rose Stewart, Consultant Clinical Psychologist & Diabetes Psychology Lead, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board & NHS Performance & Improvement

Dr. Rose Stewart is a multi-award winning Consultant Clinical Psychologist working in North Wales. She is the Diabetes Psychology lead for Wales and the chair of the UK Diabetes Psychology Network. She writes guided self-help books for people living with diabetes, is a Diabetes UK Clinical Champion and member of the Council of Healthcare Professionals, and lectures at Swansea and Bangor universities.

She uses a range of third-wave therapeutic approaches to work with high-risk client groups, and has particular interests in working with young adults, interventions to prevent psychological distress and creating psychologically informed care systems.

Dr. Stewart is the project lead for the Talking Type 1 book range, the world’s biggest diabetes psychology intervention. Her books have been published worldwide and were recently featured as a Cbeebies bedtime story read by James Norton.

Clinical Influencer, Cohort 3

Dr. Rob Letchford, Consultant Physiotherapist MSK Rehabilitation, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Rob’s roles include Consultant Physiotherapist MSK Rehabilitation, Cardiff and Vale, National Clinical Lead MSK Health, NHS Wales Executive and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Cardiff University.

Rob graduated from University of Wales College of Medicine with BSc (hons) in 1998 and specialised in MSK with a PGDip in 2003 and PhD in 2015.

He has held a broad portfolio of clinical rehabilitation work across the whole pathway from primary, urgent and planned care, delivered both in community and hospital settings. He has a passion and enthusiasm for delivering person centred and value based healthcare, supported by several years on a senior project manager role with Value in Health in Aneurin Bevan and more recently as clinical lead for benefits realisation in Cardiff and Vale therapies. After a short spell as clinical lead in the policy space within Welsh Government, Rob has been working in the national space under the NHS Executive Clinical Networks planning to influence future healthcare in Wales.

In his clinical leadership role, his aspirations are to participate in the transformation of services to deliver high quality, evidence based and high value services to support people with MSK conditions (and comorbidities) to live well.

He is passionate about person centred and value based health and care and meeting the challenges of inequities in health and well-being through strategic approaches to data informed population health.

His professional interests include:

– Rehabilitation – preventative restorative, supportive, palliative
– Prevention Based Health and Care
– Person centred care
– Self management
– Patient activation and empowerment
– Value based health care
– PROMS and PREMS
– Quality improvement
– Musculoskeletal conditions
– Implementation Science & behavioural science

The Cardiff and vale rehabilitation model is about creating sustainable models for person centred rehabilitation within the place based primary care model for Wales. The model uses a prevention based approach. Exploring the balance between condition specific, and condition agnostic needs based methods of rehabilitation delivery. Meeting the increasingly complex needs of the growing population with multiple ad interacting comorbidities, whilst maintaining access to specialist services for those with complex single condition needs. It uses value based benefits realisation to inform quality improvement and influence system and clinician behaviour change. It uses co-productive approaches to understand and meet the needs of the local population in partnership with community providers.

It’s a great project with a large and collaborative team that is slowly and steadily adapting the system towards the future needs of the population.

Clinical Influencer, Cohort 3

Dr. Richard Marsh, Consultant Geriatrician, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Richard works across two hospitals as a Consultant Geriatrician with inpatient ward sessions and sessions relating to front door geriatric medicine and admission avoidance.

He is joint Clinical Director in geriatric medicine, leading and delivering services relating to medical care for older patients. He is also a Clinical Director for UHL with a senior leadership role in the hospital driving service improvement and change relating to medical services.

His interests include:

Acute frailty
Geriatric medicine
Intermediate care

Richard’s work involves development of UHL:
1. Improvements to front door services with improved integration with community-based services, acute care for older people, acute medicine and respiratory medicine.
2. Improved pathways between UHW and UHL in order to improve quality of patient care, reducing time in hospital and improving patient flow.
3. To work collaboratively with community-based services to create clearly defined rehabilitation pathways and admission avoidance services.