PCDS News: PCDS Committee election candidate biographies (2019)

Sarah Davies
Sarah Davies is a GP Partner in Cardiff with a special interest in diabetes, and is passionate about general practice, particularly great quality diabetes care in the primary care setting.
 
She qualified at the University of Wales College of Medicine in 2003 and initially trained as a physician with a view to becoming an endocrinologist, before making the excellent move into general practice. She has never looked back!
 
Sarah has continued to develop her interest in diabetes, and presents regularly on the subject to colleagues at local and national meetings. This allows her to indulge her passion for public speaking, share her enthusiasm for the subject and promote her aim that all healthcare professionals in primary care should have access to appropriately targeted diabetes education.
 
She is the Clinical Director for Diabetes in Primary Care for Cardiff and Vale UHB, a Diabetes UK Clinical Champion and a presenter for NB Medical Education’s Hot Topics, leading their diabetes course.
 
Jane Diggle*
Jane Diggle qualified with a BSc (Hons) in Nursing in 1990 (Leeds) and has been a Practice Nurse within the same practice for over 20 years. Whilst she retains a generalist role, her special interest is in diabetes, for which she is clinical lead. She is an independent prescriber and has gained MSc modules in insulin management and new and advanced therapies from the University of Leicester.
 
Jane was elected to the PCDS Committee in 2010 and became Vice Chair in 2016. She is Associate Editor-in-Chief of Diabetes & Primary Care, regularly publishes articles, including for the popular How to series of quick reference guides (http://bit.ly/2Lp9w0h), and was instrumental in developing and writing the free e-learning module The six steps to insulin safety (http://bit.ly/33vpvyn).
 
Jane regularly delivers presentations on aspects of managing diabetes. She is a founding Board Member of Injection Technique Matters (https://bit.ly/2lpcFBu) and represents practice nurses as Associate Member of TREND-UK (Training, Research and Education for Nurses in Diabetes). 
 
The majority of diabetes care is now delivered within primary care, and mostly by practice nurses. Jane is committed to promoting and supporting the valuable contribution they make to diabetes care by sharing knowledge, skills and expertise.
 
Amanda Epps
Amanda Epps is the founder of the Diabetes Specialist Nurse Forum UK. The team received the Diabetes Healthcare Professionals of the Year award from Quality in Care in 2018. 
 
As a non-medical prescriber, she works as an autonomous practitioner across a primary care network in Medway, improving diabetes care and integration between GP practices, community diabetes and secondary care. 
 
She is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner and is studying for her second master’s level course, in diabetes, at King’s College London. 
 
Amanda has a passion for improving access to mental health for people with diabetes. This has led her, in conjunction with NHS England, to organise Diabetes: Mind Over Matter, the first diabetes and mental health conference.
 
She sees immense value in the work of the PCDS and, as a Committee member, would use her expertise in social media and connecting healthcare professionals to disseminate the work of the society across primary care.
 
Lesley Hamilton*
Lesley Hamilton has been involved with the PCDS regional group for Northern Ireland (NI) since 2012 and became one of the NI representatives on the PCDS Committee nationally in 2014. Last year, Lesley took up the position of secretary for the Committee, and is eager to promote the role of the PCDS and the importance of multidisciplinary team input into diabetes care and services. She is keen to remain part of the Committee and develop its networking opportunities.
 
Lesley qualified as a State Registered Dietitian in 1990 after completing a BSc (Hons) degree in Nutrition and Dietetics in Aberdeen. She has worked as a Diabetes Dietitian Specialist in the Western Health and Social Care Trust since 2004. Lesley is currently the Diabetes Network Manager for the Trust, working closely with primary and secondary care teams to establish integrated multidisciplinary service across the Trust, with strong links with diabetes nurses, podiatrists and pharmacists. Her work involves participation in structured patient education and staff education programmes. 
 
She promotes the education opportunities available through the PCDS, valuing its emphasis on practical, up-to-date guidance. Lesley has been involved in regional working groups for the Diabetes Network for NI and is the current chair of the NI diabetes education regional group. She is a member of the project group to design and update diabetes pathway records on the NI Electronic Care Record and is a member of the Northern Irish Diabetes Eye Screening Programme project board. Lesley became a Diabetes UK clinical champion in 2015 and is a member of the Diabetes UK NI advisory council.
 
Naresh Kanumilli*
Naresh Kanumilli has been a GP in south Manchester for the past 14 years and has a specialist interest in diabetes and cardiology. He is a Diabetes UK Clinical Champion and has also been recently appointed as a Community Consultant in Diabetes at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
 
Naresh has a very keen focus on the management of chronic conditions in the community and hence has been actively involved in setting up and running community-based clinics both in cardiology and diabetes. Additionally, he is involved with the current integration agenda in order to provide patients with seamless care between the primary and secondary sectors. He is keen to ensure that patients are seen at the right time, in the right place and by the right person. Naresh is also actively involved in GP training and the training of nurses.
 
As well as being the Clinical Network Lead for Diabetes across Greater Manchester and East Cheshire, he is also the primary care research lead for diabetes at the Greater Manchester Clinical Research Network and has developed the diabetes strategy for Greater Manchester. Recently, he was part of a group that developed the Greater Manchester cardiometabolic pathway and is in the process of developing the diabetic kidney disease pathway to enable clinicians to apply the latest trial evidence to daily practice.
 
He is also a director of Vision Beyond Autism, a charity that looks after children and young adults with autism.
 
Stephen Lawrence*
Stephen Lawrence graduated from the University of Leeds in 1987. He also completed a BSc (Hons) degree in chemical pathology during his intercalated year. This is where he developed a significant interest in diabetes and metabolic medicine, which has continued to grow. While working as a GP, Stephen was fortunate enough to be offered a clinical assistant post in diabetes in Kent, where he gained invaluable practical experience under consultant supervision. The post was subsequently converted to that of GP with specialist interest (GPwSI) in diabetes. In this role, Stephen collaborated with the PCT and hospital trust to establish a community-based intermediate GPwSI diabetes clinic to address the burgeoning burden of diabetes referrals to the local hospital.
 
Stephen has been formerly appointed Primary Care Medical Advisor for Diabetes UK and Clinical Diabetes Lead for the Royal College of GPs. He currently works as a GPwSI in Diabetes in his salaried GP post based in Bexley CCG. He also serves as a Principal Clinical Teaching Fellow in Diabetes at the University of Warwick School of Medicine. Within this role, he has been appointed as course director for the collaborative diabetes postgraduate diploma course with iHEED, delivering international, blended diabetes teaching to the UK and internationally. 
 
Stephen speaks on a comprehensive range of diabetes-related topics, including prevention, clinical management and critical appraisal of trial evidence, as well as in media-based presentations. Stephen has served as a Committee member of the PCDS since 2009 and has a passion for presenting complex information to healthcare audiences throughout the UK and beyond in an engaging and highly interactive fashion.
 
Julie Lewis
Julie Lewis’s background in diabetes includes working both in research and specialist nursing. Later, she was clinical lead for a large health board during its successful work to develop locality diabetes resource teams and to improve access to structured education. As Diabetes Lead Nurse, she is now driving nurse-led diabetes care in two very busy managed practices.
 
Julie is passionate about making nursing more influential in the way services for diabetes are clinically led and delivered. She is a founder member of the Welsh Academy for Nursing in Diabetes (WAND), and has worked with TREND-UK and academic colleagues to establish the career framework for DSNs that is now nationally recognised, and for which quality nursing care and education are key components. She delivers and peer reviews DAFNE structured education, and also develops programmes and modules for the Swansea University master’s course. 
 
Julie hopes that her candidacy inspires nursing colleagues within the PCDS to work with her to promote nurse-led leadership and excellence in diabetes care.
 
Joanne Lowe*
Joanne Lowe works as a Community Diabetes Nurse Specialist for the integrated care programme across south-east Dublin and County Wicklow. Originally training as a nurse in Birmingham, she has since provided diabetes care in a variety of settings, including as a practice nurse, in diabetes research, as a nurse advisor and in secondary care. She has a long association with the University of Warwick, graduating in 2012 with an MSc in Diabetes, and is now an honorary teaching fellow. Joanne lives in Dublin and is married with two children.
 
Jim McMorran
Jim McMorran is a GP in an urban practice in Coventry.
 
Why vote for him?
 
Well, he is not a huge extrovert or great at giving lectures. However, he is passionate about improving patient care, is involved in diabetes care from within and without his practice, and has a huge interest in providing up-to-date and relevant information for primary care as the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of GPnotebook.
 
He is a GPwSI in Diabetes in a community intermediate diabetes care team, where there are referrals from local GP practices. Also, he is Chronic Conditions Lead for his CCG and so has a strategic, as well as operational, insight into developments in diabetes care.
 
Finally, because of his role with GPnotebook, he is used to the analysis and presentation of evidence that can be used practically by all members of the primary care team.
 
Vote Jim!
 
Paul Newman**
Paul Newman is a GP and trainer based at Waverley Park Medical Practice in Glasgow. He has a special interest in diabetes and was the Chair of the Professional Conference Organising Committee of Diabetes UK, London, in 2018. He is also the GP advisor to the Council of Healthcare Professionals of Diabetes UK as well as one of their Clinical Champions. He is a co-opted Committee member of the PCDS and has been the co-organiser and co-chair of the PCDS Scottish annual conference for 2018 and 2019, where he has represented the Scottish perspective. Paul also sits on the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Diabetes.
 
As a major contributor to Diabetes UK information prescriptions, Paul teamed up with the FFIT (Football Fans in Training) programme, and was responsible for training coaches to undertake random finger-stick glucose measurements to screen for diabetes at football matches.
 
Paul is also active in diabetes research, particularly new medications for general practice, and undertook a research sabbatical at the Toronto Western Hospital, Canada.
 
Waqas Tahir
Waqas Tahir is a GP partner and System Lead for Diabetes in an area with the highest prevalence of diabetes in England. He leads the redesign of an integrated community diabetes service, developing clinical protocols and focusing on improving patient pathways. His diabetes lead role for West Yorkshire & Harrogate’s integrated care system is enabling him to improve the “3 treatment targets” and promote good practice across a wider geographical footprint.
 
His passion for diabetes and cardiometabolic disease, combined with the need to reduce clinical variation, led to the development of one of the earliest cardiometabolic pathways to be adopted regionally.
 
He is committed to ensuring that primary care is at the forefront of delivering sustainable care for patients with diabetes, using innovative solutions and technology. His aim is that best practice becomes the norm and he welcomes the opportunity to bring his enthusiasm, expertise and “freshness” to the PCDS committee in striving for our common goals of improving patient outcomes and care.
 
Sanjay Tanna**
Sanjay Tanna qualified with BSc (Hons) in Pharmacy in 1986 (Sunderland). He worked for a small pharmacy chain before taking ownership of his own pharmacy, which he ran for about ten years. He then went on to be a locum and manage community pharmacies for all the major pharmacy chains for another ten years or so.
 
Sanjay started his career in general practice in 2008, working in Lancaster and Blackpool. By working in practices of different sizes and in different locations, he has acquired a very good understanding of the changing nature of general practice and the challenges it faces. In the recent past, he has worked at the CCG level to gain experience around the medicine optimisation agenda and the commissioning of services. He currently works as a clinical pharmacist in a largish practice in Blackpool.
 
Sanjay has diplomas in asthma, COPD and diabetes, and is an independent prescriber. He currently runs clinics for people with complex diabetes and polypharmacy. He has a strong interest in the role medications can play in the management of long-term conditions.
 
Sanjay brings a pharmacist’s perspective to the PCDS’s multidisciplinary Committee, thus enriching the dialogue in improving the care of patients with diabetes with the use of appropriate medicines.