Our patient and public involvement strategy sets out our objectives and plans to ensure our organisation listens and responds to the needs and preferences of our patients and communities.
Our goal is for:
all patients to feel that they are understood, heard, and have control and choice over their health and care so that it meets their specific needs.
as many patients, families, carers and local residents to feel encouraged and supported to take an active role in their own health as well as in shaping and delivering the care we provide to help ensure it better reflects patients’ needs.
a core group of patients, carers, and local people to directly influence the development and delivery of our organisational strategy to help ensure we are making the best use of all of the insight, skills and knowledge available to us.
Our strategic lay forum
The strategic lay forum is at the core of patient and public involvement at the Trust, setting and championing a clear vision for effective patient and public involvement. It was established in November 2015 and consists of up to 20 lay partners, senior Trust staff and patient and public involvement leads at Imperial College and Imperial Health Charity. It meets every six weeks and oversees the Trust’s involvement strategy, provides advice and feedback and makes sure that the Trust’s plans and initiatives are shaped by the needs and preferences of the relevant patients and local communities.
Ed is currently a senior manager at consultancy firm PwC UK, where we focuses on workforce practice. Previously, his career spanned business support and consultancy across both the private and public sectors in the industries of mental health and education. His experience also includes eight years with the British military and overseas tours. During that time, Ed developed his interest in giving back, serving local communities and volunteering. As a resident of Hammersmith, he is really pleased to get involved with his local hospital, the Trust and wider healthcare development across north west London and to use his experience and leadership skills to help ensure we listen to patients and communities in all our developments.
Shanaka Dias
Strategic lay forum co-chair
Shanaka currently works in the areas of coproduction and participative design with charities and social businesses on governance. He previously worked as a consultant within IT and data projects, improving their use of data and approach to analysing it to meet their priorities. Shanaka was also a board member for the City of Westminster College, where he also chaired the quality improvement committee. He has spent time volunteering with local charities that support people that have Parkinsons and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He is a patient of the Trust and is keen to support the work of the NHS in how it listens to and engages with patients.
Phayza Fudlalla
Strategic lay forum deputy co-chair
Phayza has 20 years’ experience of working in community development and health promotion in the UK and internationally. She is currently an Engagement and Projects Manager with the BME Health Forum working with statutory and voluntary sector organisations to improve the health and wellbeing of BME communities and reduce health inequalities. Earlier Phayza worked for Paddington Development Trust as a Health and Communities Manager. She was also Head of Community Programmes and co-deputy CEO for the Abbey Community Association & Centre, overseeing programmes to improve the health and wellbeing of people experiencing a wide range of conditions, tackling the health inequalities of ethnic minority communities and addressing the health impact of social isolation on vulnerable older people from all backgrounds. Previously, she worked with the Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP) that supports women by providing advocacy, information and signposting. Before moving to the UK, Phayza worked with international organisations in Sudan including the World Food Programme and Plan International as a researcher and Community Development Programmes Manager respectively. Phayza holds a BSc in Agricultural Economics from Egypt and MSc in International Public Health and Nutrition from University of Westminster UK.
Stephanie Nash
Strategic lay forum deputy co-chair
Stephanie studied at St Martins School of Art. She worked as a designer and art director in music, fashion and luxury brands. She has been a Governor at Great Ormond Street Hospital for the last 5 years and as a parent and family representative for 15 years. For St Marys Hospital she has worked on paediatric projects such as CC4C (connecting care for children) while also working on several projects towards the re-development of the hospital. Stephanie has been a patient/parent representative for The London Immunisation Board as well as a committee member of Imperial charity’s All Smiles campaign, raising money for the new St Mary's PICU. She is a Trustee of Trust Judy Blame, the charity of the late designer. Stephanie has an interest in improving patient experience in paediatrics especially for patients with autism and learning difficulties.
John Black
Strategic lay forum member
John was formerly a TV Director and Producer, whose work includes Dr Who. He has also made numerous communication films/videos for large companies and charities. Born in Africa, he moved to Scotland aged ten. Later going to his home university, St Andrews, from where he has an MA in Social Sciences. As a life-long sportsman he has a profound interest in health, which led him, in 1999, to attend postgraduate courses in Sports Physiology and Sports Medicine at Brunel University. He is also a qualified Pilates Instructor. He sees being a lay partner and a member of the strategic lay forum as giving something back, but he feels guilty saying that, because it's so engrossing.
Graeme Crawford
Strategic lay forum member
Graeme was previously a solicitor initially in private practice dealing with criminal cases and also negotiating corporate contract agreements. He has studied business administration receiving a bachelor of art (honours) and a higher national diploma. He has also developed an interest in customer service experience during his career working with/for commercial organisations along with developing skills in marketing and sales. Currently, Graeme is volunteering using his skills to help benefit others.
Olivia Freeman
Strategic lay forum member
Olivia has been working with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust for many years to improve patient experience and has extensive PPI experience from working with Healthwatch, Imperial College Healthcare Trust (ICHT) and NWL London Collaborative of CCGs. She has also been involved in research projects to do with healthcare acquired infections. I am Member of Strategic Lay Forum (ICHT). She sits on the End of Life Steering Committee; Charing Cross redevelopment and NW London HCIE (Health Care information Exchange) Programme Board. She is the lay representative on the Programme Board for the Elective Orthopaedic Centre which opened at the beginning of December 2023: this was the first pan N. W London acute collaborative project.
Sonia Ann Richardson
Strategic lay forum member
Sonia has had a long career as a senior manager in health and social care. She has worked for a number of organisations including The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and the East London and City Health Authority. Sonia has an interest in patient and public involvement at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and has used the Trust’s services herself. Her experience as a lay partner/patient representative means that she is committed to trying to improve patient engagement, improve quality and safety of service planning and implementation and promoting integrated care that addresses health, prevention, social integration and psycho-social needs. Sonia was a lay member of the North West London Clinical Commissioning Group for several years, ensuring that the patient and carer voice was central to decisions about the commissioning of health care services. She currently works actively with her GP surgery Patient Participation Group, and the wider Pan Primary Care Network PPG and is a member of the board of her local Healthwatch. She works with a number of Pan-London cancer Improvement Groups, including the Patient Advisory Group and the Personalised Cancer Care Partnership Board. At Imperial Healthcare, she is currently working on the Ward Accreditation Programme and the Ward User Insight and Improvement Programme.
Jane Wilmot
Strategic lay forum member
Jane is a deaf disabled person with many years of experience in public and voluntary sector appointments. She worked as a solicitor and a librarian before retiring to bring up a family and has held senior positions at both national and local level. Jane is a member of the trust’s Strategic Lay Forum that champions the vision of meeting the needs and views of diverse local communities and patient groups. Jane is passionate about co-production where lay partners, patients, carers and community groups work together with NHS professionals as equals to identify barriers to healthcare to reduce health inequality. She is also passionate about everyone thinking, talking and writing in clear concise English in everyday language that patients and community groups understand. Jane is currently supporting the trust in reviewing and improving outpatient appointments as well as foreign language and British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting services. In 1998 Jane was awarded an OBE for services to deaf people including promoting audible and visual information on trains and buses.
Agnes Seecoomar
Strategic lay forum member
Agnes has worked as a recruitment consultant, photographer and mostly in education. Agnes has an MA in Curriculum Development and her teaching experience and qualifications include early years, TEFL and Further Education. Agnes’ teaching experience also includes students who had missed out on education for periods of time for a variety of reasons, students who had been permanently excluded from school, students with a range of SEN, basic skills to adults in the community and functional skills to students on vocational courses. Agnes was a Trustee of an Educational Charity which provided resources for schools in Guyana for 10 years. Agnes cares most about empowerment.
