Solutions for Public Health

Dr Alison Hill, Managing Director SPH and Director SEPHO

Alison has over 25 years public health experience within the NHS and has specific interests in health intelligence, health inequalities and lifestyle measurement. Since joining in 1999 Alison has led on the strategic direction and rapid growth of SPH into a leading public health organisation. Alison is also Director of the South East Region Public Health Observatory which is one of nine Public Health Observatories in England. She also heads-up the delivery of local authority Health Profiles across England for the Department of Health. Before joining SPH Alison was director of public health in Buckinghamshire for 10 years.

Qualifications & Membership

• Honorary senior clinical lecturer at the University of Oxford
• Board member of Cycling England
• Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health
• Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London)

Follow me on

Jenny Wright, Executive Director Commissioning and Workforce Development

Jenny joined SPH in 1995. She has a strong track record as a public health specialist with a background in national public health development work, leading multidisciplinary public health teams inputting to health service commissioning, research and service review. Much of Jenny's work has a national profile. Jenny was awarded (jointly with Lillian Somervaille) the Alwyn Smith Prize by the Faculty of Public Health in 2003 for services to public health.

Qualifications & Membership

• Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health
• Accredited Public Health Specialist
• MSc in Public Health
• Master of Philosophy
• Diploma in Social Administration
• Diploma in Applied Social Studies (CQSW)
• Honours degree in Modern History, University of Oxford

Dr Monica Roche, Executive Director Health Intelligence and Screening

Monica completed her undergraduate medical training in Australia but has spent most of her working life in England. She has specialised in cancer and screening related topics since the early 1990s. At SPH, Monica has responsibility for health intelligence and screening - leading on a number of programmes. She is the Medical Director of the Oxford Cancer Intelligence Unit, directing the work being undertaken as the national lead cancer registry for head and neck cancers. Monica also serves as Deputy Director of the South East Public Health Observatory.

Qualifications & Membership

• Co-Chair of the UK Association of Cancer Registries
• Member of the National Cancer Intelligence Network Screening Group
• Chair of the National Evaluation Groups for Breast and Cervical Screening
• MBBS (University of NSW)
• Fellow of Faculty of Public Health

Karen Foster, Executive Director Business Development

Karen has 20 years experience in local government and joined SPH in 2009 from Mouchel Management Consulting where she was Divisional Director of Partnership Services. Her role at SPH involves developing systems and processes to ensure appropriate governance and risk management as well as developing the business through leading on marketing and knowledge management. She led the National Healthy Schools Programme contract with the DH which was a 3 year contract worth £5m+.

Qualifications & Membership

• BA (Hons) Education and Sport (Christ Church College) NPQH (NCSL)Chartered Psychologist (British Psychological Society)
• PGCE (Christ Church College)
• BA (Hons) Psychology (Open University)
• MBA (Open University Business School)
• MSc Educational Psychology (University College London)

Sir Muir Gray, Associate Non-Executive Director

Sir Muir Gray has worked in public health for 35 years.  He helped pioneer Britain's breast and cervical cancer screening programmes and was knighted in 2005 for the development of the foetal, maternal and child screening programme and the creation of the National Library for Health.  He is currently director of the National Knowledge Service and responsible for the National Library for Health.

Colin Maclean, Associate Non-Executive Director

Colin was a founder member and President of both the British Pig Veterinary Society and the British Cattle Veterinary Association.  Colin joined the Unilever Animal Feed companies as Consultant Vet, later transferring to the commercial arm of the organisation to run several of their subsidiary companies.  He then moved to Glaxo as Deputy Managing Director and Product Development Director of their global animal businesses.

In 1988 Colin joined the Meat and Livestock Commission as Technical Director, progressing to the position of Director General in 1992.

Joining Berkshire Health Authority as a non-executive Director in 1999 he took over the chairmanship of the Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals NHS Trust in 2000, taking it from a 1-star Trust to a 3-star Foundation Trust in the following 5 years.

He has been Chairman of several Government Task forces and advisory groups.  Colin is a Board Member of the Foundation Trust Network, a member of the NHS Confederation Council.  He was awarded the OBE in the Millennium Honours List.

Malcolm Fearn, Chairman of SPH Board

Malcolm Fearn was previously Chair of Oxford PCT Board. He was also formerly a senior executive with the Hartwell Group prior to taking early retirement in 1999.  He has been a member of Rotary International for many years and is currently a member and a Past President of Oxford Isis Rotary Club. He has also held the post of Chair of the PCT Remuneration Committee.

Nick Georgiou, Associate Non-Executive Director

Nick has extensive social care management experience within local government.  He was Director of Social Services in Berkshire in the 1990s and since then has taken on various projects and interim management roles including three extended spells as Director of Social Services at Harrow London Borough, with Reading Borough Council, and most recently as Director of Hampshire County Council Adult Services.

He has worked in the NHS managing hospital and community mental health services in London, is a trustee of Oxfordshire Mind, and was a non-executive director with Oxford City PCT.  Nick is currently the Independent Chair of the Slough Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Board.

Dr John Rawlinson MRCGP, Associate Non-Executive Director

John is a practising GP, and GP trainer at Radnor House Surgery in Ascot, Berkshire.

John has a strong background in Practice Based Commissioning, and is contributing significantly to the development of shadow commissioning consortia in South Central.  With a particular interest in public health, John is leading thinking to help nascent consortia develop and embed public health skills to improve commissioning outcomes.

John read medicine at Oxford University and subsequently completed his General Practice training in Cirencester.  During this posting, at a mini General Hospital, he gained wide experience in major branches of Medicine, as well as in Psychiatry, Paediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynaecology.  He has also undertaken specialist training in Family Planning and Child Care.

His other interests include Medical Politics, ensuring that the views of General Practice are fairly represented at the Primary Care Organisation, Health Authority and NHS Executive.

John is also Chairman of the Local Medical Committee and GPC Representative.

Dr Nicholas Hicks, Associate Non-Executive Director

Nick brings to the SPH Board a strong expertise in health policy development and valuable insights into tackling health inequalities.

Nick was appointed Director of Public Health for Milton Keynes in 2002 by Milton Keynes PCT and Milton Keynes Council.  His job is to help both organisations use their resources and influence in ways that have the maximum beneficial impact on health and the reduction of health inequalities among the present and future populations of Milton Keynes.  He sits on the management teams of both organisations.

He qualified as a Doctor in 1982 and trained in general practice and public health.  He has held clinical and academic posts in Bath, Bristol and Oxford.  He was awarded a Harkness Fellowship which he held at the Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, California.  From 1998 to 2002 he was seconded from the NHS to the Department of Health where he wrote much of the Coronary Heart Disease National Service Framework and, as a founding member of the small ministerial Strategy Unit, worked closely with ministers on a wide range of issues including the NHS Plan.  His areas of professional interest include the use of evidence in policy making, coronary heart disease and health inequalities.