I am a registered nurse with a career in the NHS spanning over 35 years. I trained and have lived in Sunderland all of my life. I have always been an advocate for improving the quality of patient care, their safety and their overall experience. I have been instrumental in developing new services and clinical pathways in many areas including haematology/oncology and palliative care throughout my career and in my role as Nurse Director for the North of England Cancer Network. During this time I was also a founder board member of the United Kingdom Oncology Nursing Society, (UKONS).

From 2009 I was Director of Clinical Care and Patient Safety (Executive Nurse) at the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust responsible for quality and patient safety. This was a new role introduced to support the successful transition of the organisation to Foundation Trust status.

I have been Executive Director of Nursing, Quality & Safety for Sunderland NHS CCG since 2013 and also a Visiting Professor at the University of Sunderland in the department of nursing and health sciences.