Meet the team responsible for delivering Healthwatch Staffordshire.
In delivering Healthwatch Staffordshire, the ECS Board are advised by a Healthwatch Advisory Board drawn from members of the public. This group provides advice on:
- Healthwatch priorities
- The Enter and View programme to monitor the quality of care
- Identifying key public concerns
- Community engagement activity
They act as the voice of the people and make sure that Healthwatch Staffordshire adheres to the core principles of confidentiality, respect, feedback, transparency and influence.
Simon Fogell | Chief Executive Officer
Email: simon.fogell@weareecs.co.uk
Simon Fogell has had 25 years’ experience in local government ranging from management in children’s residential homes to Policy Manager for both children’s and adult social care. Simon led the communications and engagement for the introduction of personalisation within adult
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Carol Hewitt | Engagement & Information Lead
Email: carol.hewitt@healthwatchstaffordshire.co.uk
Carol joined Engaging Communities in 2017 after a move to Staffordshire and a career change. Carol had spent many years working in London, with nearly 20 years working in the minor metals industry which involved establishing good working relationships
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Carol has a strong interest in health and social care matters, instigated many decades ago when witnessing someone being treated without dignity or respect at a London hospital. Carol decided to bring this matter to the attention of the Senior Hospital Management in the hope that this sort of thing could not happen again to anyone under any circumstances.
Carol now manages the Healthwatch Staffordshire Enter & View programme alongside her many other duties. She believes that the Enter & View programme is strong and now has more impact on helping services make improvements – even a small change could make a big difference to people’s experience of services. She has introduced more research and direction to the visits and enjoys working with the dedicated team of Authorised Representatives who have a large and varied amount of knowledge and experience.
Carol tries to get to know our volunteers as individuals, to understand their areas of interest and their skills in the hope that volunteering with Healthwatch Staffordshire will be a positive experience. Healthwatch Staffordshire are increasingly reliant on volunteers and their contributions are very much appreciated. less
Karren Winters-Cavalot | Information, Communications and Projects Officer
Email: karren.winters-cavalot@healthwatchstaffordshire.co.uk
Karren qualified as a Registered General Nurse working at a large hospital for several years in Emergency Medicine before becoming a Ward Sister and then Operational Bed Manager. Karren then moved on to be a Fertility Nurse Specialist supporting patients
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Having already completed Teaching qualifications whilst nursing Karren underwent a change of career loving the buzz of teaching Junior Nurses and Nursing students. She spent the next few years as a Learning Manager, running a local centre and managing a Team of Tutors and Teaching assistants
She then went on to become Head of Learning for a local addictions Charity in 2015 initially as part of the HR team and then joined the new Strategic Development and Innovation team when it was set up in 2016.
Alongside her duties Karren was a member of the Safeguarding Effectiveness Committee providing vital reports in both Adult and Child Safeguarding.
Joining Healthwatch cumulates all the skills and training Karren has gathered in both the Nursing profession and in Teaching as she is passionate about improving people’s lives, putting people at the centre of what we do and working to ensure they are treated with dignity and respect.
She has always been an advocate for people and wants to ensure people have a voice and the right to be heard.
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Sarah Tingey | Senior Analyst
Email: sarah.tingey@healthwatchstaffordshire.co.uk
Sarah graduated from the University of Lincoln in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, which is where her passion for health and social care began. She then went on to graduate from the University of Nottingham in 2020
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Her work within the hospitality sector, together with her volunteer experience, has equipped Sarah with the necessary communication, organisation, and interpersonal skills to work together with communities to achieve positive health and social care outcomes. Sarah is very passionate about ensuring every individual has the opportunity to have their voice heard by the right people.
Outside of work, Sarah enjoys spending time with family and friends, early morning walks, and has a keen interest in reading.
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Dave Bassett | Community Outreach Lead
Email: david.bassett@healthwatchstaffordshire.co.uk
Dave has been involved with Health and Social Care since 1972, working for Cumbria, Derbyshire and Staffordshire Social Services. He has also held senior management roles in the NHS in Leicestershire and North Staffordshire both as a provider and a
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Previously Dave was Vice Chair of Staffordshire LINK, representing them as a non-voting member of Staffordshire County Council Health Scrutiny Committee and in meetings relating to changes to Stafford Hospital A&E. He has chaired his GP patient group and was an initial member of East Staffordshire CCG Patient Board. He is a Director of Burton and district Mind and a member of University of Derby and Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Recently he has started as a volunteer car driver for the East Midlands Ambulance Service.His interests are in community health and care services for vulnerable adults and their interface with hospital services as well as patient and public involvement. He is also a season ticket holder at Leicester City.
Dave is our Community Outreach Lead for East Staffordshire.
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Emma Ford | Community Outreach Lead.
Email: emma.ford@healthwatchstaffordshire.co.uk
Emma has a law degree, legal practice certificate, and 15 years’ experience of working in the voluntary sector, including as a Volunteer Generalist Advisor at Stoke Citizen’s Advice Bureau (latterly specialising in Debt Work), and as the Media Bureau Co-ordinator
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Emma wants to use her skills, knowledge, and experience (both personal and professional) to work with the people of Newcastle and Staffordshire Moorlands to improve the health services they receive.
In her spare time, Emma likes running, having completed several half marathons and the London Marathon, and has recently started taking part in triathlons.
Emma is our Community Outreach Lead for Newcastle and the Staffordshire Moorlands.
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Morag Heggie | Community Outreach Lead.
Email: Morag.Heggie@healthwatchstaffordshire.co.uk
A Registered Nurse in Mental Health whose long career has been spent working in the NHS, the Private and the Charitable sectors. A special interest in psychological trauma within the Ex-Service population highlighted the need to not only offer appropriate
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Morag spent some time introducing and teaching The Care Certificate within a hospital Trust, also working within a GP practice and most recently as a Counsellor taking referrals from and Occupational Department. For a number of years she also enjoyed working as a Specialist Advisor for CQC visiting both hospital and social care settings.
Having recently moved back to Staffordshire she enjoying exploring the local area.
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Sarah Gorton | Community Outreach Lead.
Email: sarah.gorton@healthwatchstaffordshire.co.uk
Sarah worked for the NHS for 30 years as a Registered General Nurse in both clinical and non-clinical roles. She has a BSc in Specialist Nursing practice from the University of Staffordshire. As a clinical nurse she worked in a
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Later in non-clinical roles she worked for Public Health England working closely with the services which provide the national immunisations and screening programmes to the general public. Her last role as an RGN was working for Macmillan Cancer Support within a large local teaching hospital. This was to implement an assessment to improve the lives of people living with and beyond cancer. She is passionate about reducing health inequalities.
In her spare time Sarah enjoys walking her two Staffie rescues, Bella and Boomy.
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Lloyd Cooke | Healthwatch Advisory Board Chair.
Chair of the Healthwatch Advisory Board, Lloyd brings considerable experience to his role from his involvement with health and social care across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and as CEO of Saltbox
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Derek Hoey | Healthwatch Advisory Board Member
I am 66 years old, married with two sons and two granddaughters. I have lived in Tamworth for the past 38 years, although I am of proud Scottish heritage, having
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Now retired, I spent most of my career in the world of advertising – although latterly I changed path and worked as a Research Officer with West Midlands Police.
I became a Healthwatch Champion in 2014, having attended a focus group they organised in Tamworth, following a controversial decision to close an operating facility at the local hospital. That decision was reversed – so it shows the potential power of the public voice! Since then, I have become an Authorised Representative and was appointed to the Advisory Group in 2016.
The remainder of my time is taken up with such things as being a magistrate on the South East Staffordshire bench and a member of the Tamworth & District Civic Society – and, of course, grandparent duties! less
