James Moore MBA, Assoc CIPD

Chief Executive Officer

James has over 30 years management experience gained within the Voluntary and Public sectors. Previous experience as a CEO of  a Mental Health Charity helped him understand the need for good health and social care provision and the need for organisations to listen to those they provide services for. He is a founding member of Healthwatch Derby helping it develop from the Local Infrastructure Network or LINK that was the previous vehicle for patient experience.

Rebecca Johnson

Community and Involvement Manager 

Rebecca has worked at Healthwatch since it started in 2013 and for its predecessor, Derby Local Involvement Network (LINk), for two years before that.  Her role involves keeping the membership up to date with current news and opportunities to get involved including the Healthwatch Reference Group, recruiting Healthwatchers (members), recruiting, training and supporting Healthwatch Champions (volunteers) and the Healthwatch Youth Board.  She is also responsible for Healthwatch Derby’s Enter and View programme. Before working at Healthwatch and LINk, Rebecca worked at Community Action Derby for 16 years mainly as Reception Supervisor.

Nasreen Iqbal

Lead Engagement Officer

Nasreen joined Healthwatch Derby as the Lead Engagement Officer. She works with the Community and Involvement Manager and wider team to help engage with the wider local communities in Derby City to help them share and participate in improving access to the health and social care services across the city.

She has over 36 years experience of working with diverse communities including paid and unpaid volunteering work roles. This includes professional work roles in Special Education Needs and Disabilities through Youth and Community Education work, Adults Teaching ESOL, training and development in Community Safety and Health Education initiatives and events projects and as SEND Travel Trainer and Lead Youth Worker.

Nasreen has multilingual skills and supports work to reduce barriers patients may face in communication difficulties. This involves liaison with BAME groups, new communities and existing community groups to raise awareness about Healthwatch Derby services and share information and help break down barriers faced by people living in Derby City.

Fran Roberts

Engagement and Patient Experience Officer

Fran has been with Healthwatch Derby since 2018 and is the main engagement officer, her role is to engage with people in the community to get their voices heard about their experiences in using health and social care services, her role also includes admin work for the engagement team such as arranging outreaches and sending out reports for learning and development.

Fran has worked in the health and social care sector for the last 5 years, previously working as a support worker for adults with learning disabilities and mental health conditions.

Rebecca Sumpter

Office Supervisor 

Rebecca started work at Healthwatch Derby in 2013. Her current role involves HR, finances, salaries, data control and general administration. Rebecca’s previous jobs roles have been varied – she started as a training officer at Rolls Royce, moved into the voluntary sector for many years after that as a trainer, refugee co-ordinator and then into budget control.

Jade Hyam-Jones

Engagement and Administration Officer

Jade joined the team as an engagement and administration officer in May 2024,  after previously volunteering in outreach engagement activities. She works alongside the engagement team to support their outreach activities on health and social feedback. Her role also includes enabling the team’s day-to-day administration duties and meetings.  A recent graduate from the University of Derby with an undergraduate BSc in human biology and MSc in biomedical health. With a keen interest in improving healthy living and the health inequalities facing the wider community.

Meet the board

Sue Cowlishaw

Chair

Sue is a retired midwife with a post graduate qualification in public health. She is passionate about health inequalities and social justice. Sue has been a key leader for health visitors and school nurses. Her last role was as a strategic lead for children’s centres. She us particularly interested in childbirth, family and young peoples, health and mental health

Dr Stephen Handsley 

Vice Chair

Stephen is a retired Associate Professor in the Sociology of Health, following many years working in and across the Higher Education sector. Much of his experience and expertise focuses upon health and social care, public health, and health inequalities. As a lifelong Derby resident, Stephen has been a Board member of Healthwatch Derby since its existence and is currently Vice-Chair. Perhaps not surprisingly, given his previous “day job”, he is extremely passionate about all aspects of health and social care and, in particular, service user engagement and involvement, and has published widely in the field. As such, he sees his role with Healthwatch as a privileged opportunity to act as an advocate, ambassador, and visionary in helping determine the strategic direction, practice, and approaches to the way in which health and social care are both delivered and received in the City of Derby. In addition, he is also an independent member of the Derbyshire Police and Crime Panel and a Co-Opted Governor at two primary schools, and one Secondary school, all of which are located within Derby or Derbyshire.

Rachel Murfin

Rachael Murfin currently works for the Derby and Derby Integrated Care board (DDICB) as Patient Experience Manager.  Her role involves working with patients, carers, staff, vounteers, groups etc… to look at the experiences of those using services across Derbyshire.  This information is then used to develop and improve services and in the future commissioning of services.

Rachael is especially interested and experiences in learning Disabilities, Autism and SENDs and runs a social night in Belper for adults with special needs to provide them with a social evening and disco in her Bar.  Rachael is also a local Chair of Care and Treatment Reviews for people with learning Disabilities and/or Autism

Rachael has over 30 years of experience in the NHS initially in District Clinical Psychology and then in various roles within the local acute hospitals including Patient Engagement, complaints, PALS,  bereavement services and interpreter services before joining the Clinical Commissioning Group which recently became the DDICB

Kieran Abayasekara

Kieran is a student at the University of Nottingham School of Medicine. His keen interest in the issues surrounding society and healthcare motivated him to join the School Council and Youth Council of Derby City Council during my Secondary school career at Littleover Community School. Kieran was also a finalist for the 2018 Youth Mayor of Derby Elections. During the past few years, he has been helping in the local Charity Shops. As a Scout, he was involved in projects which supported the local community. Kieran was a Mealtime volunteer at the Royal Derby Hospital. Since 2019, he has been a Youth Board Member of Healthwatch Derby as a representative voice to address issues of Healthcare.

Tally Rana

Tally has worked in the adults care sector for over 15 years. He currently works for a Home Care provider as Quality Assurance Manager and has a proven track record of success, orchestrating improved CQC ratings for care providers across the UK. Tally is also Director of Adult Care Consultants LTD, providing advice, guidance and support regarding regulations and legislations within the care sector. Tally joined the Healthwatch Derby Board to make a difference for the people of Derby.

Louise Robinson

My passion for helping others has exceeded over the years putting people at the heart of all that I achieve. I currently work as a Probation Officer for the Probation Service, acting as a champion for diversity and equality for service users as well as colleagues. My volunteer work with CSSC and the Probation service as a Diversity Champion and Deputy Chair of the Equity Council means I have connections throughout the Midlands in regards to supporting people with diverse needs and protected characteristics. Additionally, I come from a retail management background, meaning I also have the strong everyday skills to deal with difficult and time restrictive matters that support people in need. I strive for the best in all that I do and I hope my role here with Healthwatch Derby will enable me to execute these skills in assisting those who need support and an active voice

Nav Sahota

Nav currently works as a Health & Social Care Programme Director, working on both national and local innovation delivery in the public sector. She has over 15 years of leadership experience. During this time she has setup and turned around a variety of teams and services across adult social care, primary and urgent care. Her focus has always been to deliver the best experiences possible for people using services, whether this be through improved access, choice or outcomes. As someone who was born in Derby and has spent most of her life living in the city, joining the Healthwatch Board provides an opportunity to utilise her knowledge and expertise to support the local community.