Photo of Healthwatch City of London Chair

Our Chair, Gail Beer

Gail has over 40 years' experience in healthcare. A Barts trained nurse, her association with the City goes back a long way.  After working extensively in London Hospitals, including the Royal London, Gail moved into management, becoming an executive director on the board of Barts and the London. Leaving Barts, Gail worked as an independent consultant before moving into 2020health, a Westminster-based think tank. She has returned to the NHS and is currently at Guy's and St Thomas' as a director working on special projects.

Gail has numerous publications in her name on a wide range of health-related subjects and has undertaken several TV and radio interviews as an expert commentator. As a long term City resident, she feels strongly that the voice of local residents and workers must be heard and that holding health and social care providers to account is an essential part of the Healthwatch role.

group at HWCoL AGM 2018

Our Board

Steve Stevenson - Trustee

Steve has been a City resident since 1988. He was a member of the City of London's Common Council from 1994 to 2009, serving on the community services committee covering housing, social services and health. Steve has considerable experience of patient engagement and involvement first as a member of the Community Health Council and then at Links. He has been a member of the City of London's health and social care scrutiny committee since 2012. Steve was the sole carer for his wife who had Alzheimer's from 2000 to 2014. Steve joined the board in October 2014. 

Lynn Strother - Trustee

Lynn managed the first Healthwatch City of London contract and offers a wealth of knowledge and understanding of Healthwatch. She also has experience and knowledge of the NHS, Social Services and Older Peoples Charities, having worked in these sectors for several years. Lynn is a member of the London Ambulance Service Public and Patient Council. She is also a member of the Patient Involvement Collaborative at Kingston Hospital.

Malcolm Waters - Trustee

Malcolm Waters retired in 2019 after 41 years in practice at the Chancery Bar in London. He was appointed a QC in 1997. In his professional life, he specialised in retail financial services and mutual institutions, taking a particular interest in the law relating to unfair contract terms and the various ways in which consumers can obtain redress if they have been treated unfairly by financial institutions. He has a flat in the Barbican and is a patient of the Neaman Practice.

Judy Guy-Briscoe - Trustee

Judy Guy-Briscoe has lived in the City of London for forty-five years with her family. She taught for thirty-nine years in inner London secondary schools, ending as an Advanced Skills Teacher of Health and Social Care. Judy was also a member of the managements team which oversaw budgets and planned for complex objectives. She is an Honorary Secretary of the trustees of the Friends of the City Churches and has volunteered at Sutton’s Hospital in Charterhouse and with Age UK in their Wellbeing Walk Leader national scheme. Judy enjoys meeting new people and looks forward to listening to people’s experiences and views.

Janet Porter - Board Associate

Janet Porter has lived in the Barbican since 2005. She is a business journalist who retired as executive editor of Lloyd’s List in 2018, and now chairs the shipping publication’s editorial board, as well as continuing to write about the maritime industry. Janet was born in London and has an economics degree from London University.
As a resident of the City of London, she is keen to ensure that health and social care services in the Square Mile are world class and meet the needs of the local community. Janet is an authorised Enter and View representative.

Stuart Mackenzie - Board Associate

Stuart MacKenzie is retired, and a Barbican resident since 2005. He held principal consultant and senior European marketing roles in leading UK and US management, high technology and product design consultancies. He has also had public sector experience, conducting studies and holding seminars in the medical equipment industry, as well as undertaking freelance consultancy projects in the biotech and food sectors. He has a degree in industrial design and engineering. 
He is interested in improving the user/service provider interface and the quality of communications in the NHS and social care. Stuart is an authorised Enter and View representative.
 

Cynthia White - Board Associate

Cynthia joined Healthwatch City of London as an Associate Board Member in January 2019. She chairs the City & Hackney Older People Reference Group; sits on the City of London Adult Safeguarding Sub-Committee and represents the Neaman Practice on the CCG's Patient and Public Involvement Committee. Cynthia is a Barbican resident who is well known across the City for her voluntary work, dedication and commitment in the improvement of Health and Social Care provision in the City.

Recruitment

We are currently recruiting Trustees and Board Associates
Please visit our Jobs page for further information.

 

Past Board papers

We make the papers for our public Board meetings available online. We also publish a summary of what was discussed. Check out our past meetings to read more.

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