Governors | Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (2024)

At the 14 September 2023 Council of Governors meeting, Anna Gardner was appointed as the new Lead Governor, taking over from Mike Hobbs who undertook the role for the last two years.

Anna is a Public Governor for Buckinghamshire and lives in Great Missenden with her husband and three children. Now a psychotherapist working in private practice, Anna had previous careers in the legal and non-profit sectors, with tenure at US multinationals, such as Hewlett-Packard and Accenture, and in non-profits such as Sight Savers International, ILFA and Tesito.

Following her appointment, Anna thanked Mike for his time and hard work as Lead Governor and said that she was looking forward to working with the Trust’s governors, in particular supporting engagement across the governors and members; working with sub-group chairs on areas of interest and focus for patients, carers, services users and staff; and working closely with the Trust’s Non-Executive Directors.

I am delighted to be elected to the council of governors for Oxford Health Buckinghamshire.

As a passionate advocate for equitable healthcare and community representation, my focus is on amplifying the voices of our members to shape priorities and services reflective of their needs and aspirations.

Having relocated to Buckinghamshire in 2015, I reside in Great Missenden with my husband and three children. Through first-hand experience, I understand the challenges facing CAMHS and its increasing importance in modern society.

As a racial equity scholar and educator, I am dedicated to addressing healthcare inequalities driven by race, ethnicity, and intersecting factors such as poverty, age, gender, sexuality, and disability.

With leadership experience, strategic planning skills, and intersectional advocacy, I seek to represent our community’s diverse interests within the Trust.

My heartfelt thanks to the public of Oxfordshire for electing me to the Council of Governors at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. I promise to draw onto my education, work and volunteer experience and the experience of using health services for me and my family to fulfil this role.

I am a physiotherapist by background and started off my career in 1998 as lecturer in physiotherapy with clinical responsibilities in India. I progressed to academic administration and eventually initiated and led a successful physiotherapy programme along with clinical, teaching and research responsibilities. In these roles, I gained significant experience in advocating for students and staff and led important and time-sensitive discussions and negotiations with multiple stakeholders including universities, government bodies and professional associations. I am sure that these experiences will be vital to my role as a governor.

I moved to Canada in 2009 to pursue a research degree on scholarship. I also got the opportunity to work there for two years after my studies. This gave me a good understanding of the healthcare environment there.

As a family we moved to Oxfordshire in 2015. I worked for around 5 and a half years as a trauma inpatient physiotherapist at the John Radcliffe Hospital. Though I worked for Oxford University Hospitals NHSFT, I relied on many of the services provided by Oxford Health NHSFT for the ongoing care of my patients. This gave me an opportunity to understand the challenges of the health needs of residents of Oxfordshire.

A combination of reduced funding for services and staffing shortages have led to a climate where it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide evidence based patient centred care. Having experienced this as a service user as well, the need of the hour is to innovatively think and listen to the public of Oxfordshire on how we can improve access to services that directly and indirectly affect them and their families.

As a resident of Oxfordshire for more than 35 years, and a regular user of NHS services across the county for three generations of my family, I have wide experience of NHS care.

My working life has been in the not-for-profit sector, including working with prisoners and their children for the Thames Valley Partnership, teaching Adult Literacy and Numeracy to disadvantaged young men, as a Trustee of Oxford’s Asylum Welcome, as an Oxford Magistrate with a particular interest in mental health for over 20 years, and with knowledge of other healthcare systems through my work for Earthwatch in Oxford. I have most recently been CEO of the organic health and wellbeing charity Garden Organic, where partnerships with the NHS were key to beneficial mental health outcomes.

I can bring this working life experience as a Governor, making meaningful contributions to both policy and administrative issues, having had widespread exposure to engaging with challenging targets against finite resources, and making tough decisions in difficult circ*mstances.

As a public Governor for Oxfordshire, I would seek to represent ordinary service users, and particularly those from marginalised communities, with a specific focus on the elderly and adults with mental health issues. In my experience, we need to balance clinical interventions with social and community support, to keep our increasing elderly population active, independent and resilient for their own benefit, as well as to better manage our stretched resources. If elected, I commit myself to serving our whole community.

I am delighted to have been elected to serve as a public governor (Oxfordshire) and to have the opportunity to draw on my experience to strengthen the representation of patients, carers and staff and so improve the Trust’s services.

As a parent and carer, I have had personal experience of the highs and lows of CAMHS and Adult MH services: the wonderful skills, care, and support of individual staff members, but also the pressures and frustrations of the system. These have only increased recently and whilst I am full of admiration for staff, I worry for those needing support; I would work to ensure their experience helps to guide decisions about the best use of the resources available.

I have many years’ experience of working in older people services (community health, social care and housing) and am a trustee of Age UK Oxfordshire. It is amazing how a more joined up approach can improve the experience of patients and carers but can be very challenging to deliver. I will work to ensure the voice of patients and carers of Oxfordshire can be heard within such a large, integrated system.

I currently work with a charity supporting teachers to deliver good autism practice; listening to the challenges that parents, carers and neurodiverse young people face in getting the right support has been an eye-opener.

I will strive to ensure the voices of all Oxfordshire’s diverse communities, young and old, are heard across the Trust.

My name is Julien FitzGerald and I have been an LGBT+ advocate and activist for over three decades. In addition, since 2005, I have been a service user of adult mental health services, as well as sitting on a number of associated forums and committees, to ensure that the collective voices and views of the local LGBT+ communities are heard, especially in regard to the provision of general and mental health services.

Additionally, I am also the founder and joint co-ordinator of the Aylesbury Vale LGBT Social Group who runs an increasingly successful Monthly Coffee Posse and will soon be relaunching our LGBT+ Families Hub and Café Posse, in conjunction with the Healthy Living Centre in Aylesbury.

I became a governor representing the constituency Service Users – Buckinghamshire & Other Counties to provide a voice for patients with mental health conditions and ensure that services can be specifically tailored to the needs of the LGBT+ communities in Buckinghamshire and the surrounding areas.

Having been a mental health patient for over two decades, I want do all that I can to improve the rights and representation of mental health service users, and to give something back to the service user community which has been so good to me and which deserves so much better from mental health services.

I have been disabled since birth. I have previously worked with a disabled organisation and my local authority in several positions. I decided I wanted to do something different and help more disabled people particularly those with a learning disability.

I have been a member of My life My choice for nearly four years; three of them as Co-Chair of the Trustees; a member of the Oxfordshire County council co-production Board; part of the leading together co-production group at Oxford Health and a spokesperson for Learning Disability England.

I have written a story which was published about my life during the first lockdown. I have also written many blogs and given many quotes about learning disabilities. I have been in the Oxford Mail as well as other local and national newspapers about how the pandemic is affecting people with learning disabilities. I have been on BBC local radio stations talking about COVID-19 and its effect on people with learning disabilities. I have made several appearances on BBC South Today talking about My life My Choice gig buddies and phone buddy projects along with COVID-19. I have also been on Japanese TV talking about COVID-19 and how it has affected people with learning disabilities in England.

I have done many presentations and lectures on self-advocacy and people with learning disabilities becoming leaders. I have done a podcast for the Leader’s Council of Great Britain.

I have been interested in the provision of health care services in Oxfordshire for some time now as a carer for my husband who has been affected physically and mentally by his service within the Armed Forces.

I believe the NHS provides great services within Oxfordshire, and I am keen to work within Oxford health ensure the needs of all are met. I have previously been lucky enough to contribute to developing services within NHS England Armed Forces and within local government.

I have been with Oxford Health since 2018. I am a physical health RNA and work with Oxford City and North Community Adult Mental Health Teams. Prior to this role, I have been working with district nurses for three years. I am passionate about continuous improvement in patient care, as in my role I see first-hand the health inequalities faced by patients with severe mental illnesses.

Moreover, one of my sons is currently a patient of the AMHT service and previously also has been under the CAMHS service for many years. This lived experience as a carer drives my commitment to improve our services and support the staff in achieving this.
I have lived in Oxford for more than two decades and I have years of experience in the voluntary sector, working with many local charities such as Oxford Hub, Refugee Resource and Asylum Welcome, providing practical support to vulnerable residents in the community. Additionally, I am a primary school governor and a trustee at the Donnington Doorstep Family Centre. I have also served as an Oxford City Councillor and my role will came to an end in May 2022. I feel I can bring a variety of understanding and experience to the governor role and will support the board in building a thriving working environment, where equality, fairness, career progression, and the wellbeing of the staff is at heart of every decision making.

My professional journey is deeply intertwined with the mission to advance mental health care and research. However, it’s my personal experiences as a long-standing carer for multiple members of my family, which truly shaped my understanding of the challenges and needs within our healthcare system. Being a young carer has given me profound insights into the patient/carer experience, highlighting the importance of support, empathy, and effective communication within our healthcare services.

My vision encompasses an integrated approach to mental health care, where the voices of patients, families, and carers are heard and valued. I am passionate about leveraging my background to bridge gaps between patient care and policy, enhance support for mental health conditions across all ages, and ensure that our healthcare system is accessible, responsive, and compassionate.

I am committed to advocating for policies that support not only those in need of care but also the unsung heroes who care for them.

Together, we can forge a path towards a more inclusive, empathetic, and effective healthcare system.

Martyn has been a member of Oxford Health NHS FT for almost 10 years. He started off as a Support, Time and Recovery Worker in the South East Bucks (now Chiltern) CMHT in 2012. He holds a BSc in Human Psychology from Aston University.

He is now a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and Step 2 Team Lead at Healthy Minds, Buckinghamshire’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Service, where he has worked for nine years. He started there as a Trainee Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner and has followed the IAPT career pathway as well as working as a Referral Co-ordinator in the Buckinghamshire Psychological Therapies Pathway Single Point of Access.

Outside of work Martyn is a keen softball player and ‘Cat Dad’ to Albus Dumblepaw as well as being a long-suffering Aston Villa fan.

Martyn put himself forward as a Governor as he wanted to ensure all voices are heard across the Trust, particularly from Buckinghamshire Mental Health Staff Members of the Trust to help the Trust meet its’ core values and help it evolve into an organisation of Outstanding People delivering Outstanding Care.

I joined Oxford in January 2022 as a Senior Programme Manager within Community Dental Services which I am absolutely loving. Previous to this role I’ve managed many different teams and departments for corporate companies. I have moved across to the NHS because I want to make a difference in the work I do, and I believe being a governor will support this goal even more. I’m passionate about empowering colleagues through clear communication, and I will support this as much as I can as a governor.

I am proud to work within Community Services and passionately talk about my role and the amazing work my colleagues do to anyone that listens. Being a governor will help me openly talk about the work that is happening behind the scenes to more stakeholders within our community. I am passionate that any project or innovation that is taking place, patients should always be at the heart of any decisions made, and as a governor I will support this key priority.

As a full-time working mum of two, I know the challenges faced around work/life balance and will endeavour that health and wellbeing for staff is integrated into future strategies that the Trust creates.

As Head of the Forensic Recovery College, I am positioned within secure services but slightly outside the mainstream. College courses are delivered via co-production, and in my role I engage with patients and staff on a different level, which includes both the individual and informal. Having an ear to the ground means that I am well positioned to act as a link, voicing the concerns of patients and staff, and, as a representative of the governors’ team, feeding back to both the board’s decisions.

I am well experienced in a strategic role, having developed the Forensic Recovery College from its inception. As well as developing systems and ensuring that, as a business, the college runs smoothly and effectively, my role has involved understanding and championing needs, fostering working relationships, actively listening to and valuing the contributions of very different people, asking questions in a constructive manner, and above all, finding creative solutions.

I welcome the opportunity to work with the governors’ team, highlighting issues, bringing ideas and helping the voices of patients and staff to be heard at the heart of the decision-making process.

It is a core value of mine to serve the people where I live with exceptional and appropriate health care. I qualified as a registered nurse for people with a learning disability (LD) in November 1992. Currently I am waiting to start a new role within Oxford Health as the Learning Disability Nurse Consultant.

I have two grown-up children still living at home and finding their way in the world, a supportive husband and recently two lively puppies (Black Labradors) who are keeping all four of us (and our elderly cat) very busy. I was recently awarded the Queens Nurse title and made a pledge to raise the profile of learning disabilities, so that all services respond equitably to those who require a more flexible approach to care. I believe this extends to all those served by Specialised Services as we often work with some of the most marginalised of individuals who are complex and often misunderstood.

Being a Governor will enable opportunities to raise awareness of and for our vulnerable service users.

Oxford Health is mine and my family’s health care provider. My family and I are users of the systems in Oxfordshire, and I also work within them. If it doesn’t work for us and the learning disability population I serve, it just won’t work at all. I want to feel assured that if I or my family need to, they can use the services without question or concern.

I work alongside some amazing people across Oxford Health, and I am always totally blown away by the empathy, commitment and determination that I witness. I would like to ensure that the staff have a voice, that Specialised Services has a voice, that we have opportunity to influence and scrutinise the direction of travel of Oxford Health, because I know that our staff make us more than what we aim to be.

I wanted to become a staff governor to support the Trust in its endeavours to provide excellent, equitable and positive healthcare and provide support to the staff who deliver this to the people of Oxfordshire.

It is a great honour and privilege to represent you all on the Council of Governors. My main focus is on the culture of the organisation, to uphold its values and to bring the NHS People Promise to the fore of what we do.

I firmly believe in clear, constructive communication, staff voices are important in shaping the Trust. I am committed to actively engaging and listening to all staff and ensuring that your views and ideas are heard.

Championingquality and improvement of both the patient and staff experience, I am competent in objectively reviewing and challenging information and decisions to implement meaningful change at multiple levels.

I consider myself caring and open-minded as well as a motivated, organised and solution driven individual which I consider vital for this role.