Steering Group
The Steering Group is made up of 4 representatives from each Sector drawn from its membership and one representative from our host organisation East London NHS Foundation Trust, together they oversee and govern the Network activities.
Steering Group representatives are elected through a formal election process and member votes. The Steering Group members elect two representatives as Co-Chairs and a one as Treasurer.
The Steering Group, use their experience, skills and knowledge of their specific sector to assist in making strategic decisions, governance of the Network, representing the interests of member organisation and agreeing and overseeing the member work programme.
The Steering Group ensure delivery and quality of the agreed member work programme through regular performance and progress reports from Reference and User Groups.
Steering Group Meetings
The Steering Group meet virtually 3 times per year for Network Governance and once for an in-person planning day which incorporates the governance meeting and setting and agreeing the member work programme and budget for the following membership year.
Steering Group meeting dates can be found on our events page
Dr Amar Shah
Dr Amar leads at executive and Board level at ELFT on quality, performance, strategy, planning and business intelligence. He is the national improvement lead for mental health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, leading a number of large-scale improvement collaboratives on the topics of suicide prevention, restrictive practice and sexual safety. Amar is also chair of the quality improvement faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Amar is an improvement advisor and faculty member for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, teaching and guiding improvers and healthcare systems across the world. He is honorary visiting professor at the University of Leicester. Amar has completed an executive MBA in healthcare management, a masters in mental health law and a postgraduate certificate in medical education. Amar is a regular national and international keynote speaker at healthcare improvement conferences and has published over 40 peer-review articles in the field of quality management.
Ben Shaw
Ben has over two decades of experience in senior leadership roles in public and private sectors, primarily specialising in procurement as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. In his most recent capacity as Director of Productivity, Ben successfully led the Trust’s cost and quality improvement programmes for several years. In December 2023 Ben was appointed as the Director of Financial Sustainability for UHL. Ben has overseen the Trust's cost improvement programme, managed NHS Model Hospital and GIRFT initiatives, while actively engaging in regional and national CIP steering groups and wider STP benchmarking work.
Helen Rushforth
Helen is a qualified accountant providing strategic financial leadership for the Medical Care Group at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust. Helen previous led the productivity and efficiency programme for the University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust; developing governance, processes and procedures to support the identification, implementation and sustainability of opportunities identified through benchmarking (NHSBN, Model Hospital, GIRFT). Helen is the Network Treasurer
James Jarvis
James has over 2 decades of experience in Business Intelligence and Analytics roles within the NHS, covering acute, community, mental health provision and commissioning. James is the Associate Director of Business Intelligence at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, where he is responsible for Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing, Data Quality and Clinical Coding. James is also a member of the Shared Health and Care Analytics Board, which is a group looking to develop analytical capabilities across Kent and Medway.
Sam Wilde
Sam has recently joined Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust where he will be taking up the post of Chief Finance Officer. Sam previously spent 6 years at Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) as Director of Finance and Business Intelligence. Sam graduated in 1996 having studied Finance and Accountancy before later going on to complete an MBA at Durham University. He has worked in the NHS for over 12 years but also worked for 16 years in the private sector for Rolls Royce PLC, AstraZeneca PLC and Coal Pension Trustee’s Services Ltd.
Lee Cornell
Lee has worked for the NHS in Somerset since 1992, when he joined the then Somerset Family Health Services Authority. Lee has been the Performance lead for provider and commissioner organisations in Somerset, as well as having been a Payments & Payroll Manager and an acting Practice Manager, and is currently the Associate Director of Planning and Performance with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which provides acute, community, mental health, learning disabilities, and primary care services. Lee has an MA in Management from the University of the West of England.
Melanie Duff
Mel has a background in Information, Operations, Transformation and Strategy, consistently using data, including benchmarking, to identify improvement opportunities to ensure optimal service effectiveness and value. Engaging teams in service evaluation and transformation through instilling a culture of curiosity to drive continuous quality improvement.
Anna Hargrave
Anna has 36 years’ experience in the NHS, both as a nurse and a General Manager. Anna has worked in both an acute hospital setting and for the last 2 1/2 years as Divisional Director in the Community. Anna manages the Community Services from an operational perspective but also has responsibility for flow out of hospital into the community supporting a 'Home First' Discharge to Assess Model of care. She has also supported the introduction of Urgent Community Response and more recently Virtual Wards, which the current data and information for benchmarking is limited.
Julian Emms
Julian Emms is Chief Executive of Berkshire Healthcare, a combined Mental Health and Community Health NHS Foundation Trust. Julian started his career in the probation service as a support worker and went on to undertake a variety of roles in the service over a 10-year period before joining the NHS in 1997. An NHS Executive Director since 2004 Julian has wide ranging experience in organisational leadership and service improvement. The Trust is a Global Digital Exemplar in healthcare and is rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Creating a culture in which operational excellence and innovation can thrive has been a major focus of Julian’s work over the last decade. Julian is the chair of the NHSBN Mental Health sector reference Group.
Jess Lievesley
Jess has extensive board level experience within Mental Health Services both at operational and strategic levels as well as being a Registered Mental Health Nurse. Jess specialises in transformation, quality improvement,. performance improvement and population health improvement.
Philip Murray
Philip is a Certified Accountant with over 35 years of NHS service, in addition to finance his portfolio includes performance, estates, digital and contracting. He is also his trust’s Deputy CEO. Philip’s career has spanned time within commissioning, acute, mental health and included teaching hospitals, involving time within operational service management. Philip brings a range of skills to the role including, understanding and interpreting data, connecting cross-sector data sets and reflecting upon cross sector needs and patient pathways.
Haydn Jones
Haydn has extensive experience of working in the public sector across the NHS (commissioner and provider roles), local government and the police service. Haydn is currently Associate Director of Finance (Business Intelligence) at NHS Gloucestershire ICB and has previously been a finance director of a community interest company (CIC) that provided integrated health and social care services. He is a qualified CIPFA accountant and has a postgraduate certificate in Population Health Sciences. His key skills include benchmarking, analytics, financial management, continuous improvement, influencing, good interpersonal and strong communication skills. Haydn has a keen interest in value-based health and care and using data to improve population health outcomes.
Nicola Hughes
Nicola has worked in the NHS for over 30 years with experience of primary care, secondary care and commissioning. Starting her career as a medical secretary working in an acute trust and moved to a post which developed into a role of fundholding manger in a first wave fundholding practice. Nicola has worked in operational management in acute trusts within both Birmingham and Bristol, managing a range of clinical services including medical, surgical and A&E. Most recently, Nicola has been working within planned care commissioning with Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Health System.
Anne Brierley
Anne has worked in various Senior Leadership roles, providing her with practical and strategic understanding of the challenges facing each sector of the NHS, and how to work differently to achieve the optimal outcomes for residents through constrained resources. Anne has much experience (and track record) in how to work smarter to improve outcomes and productivity. All of this starts with asking the right questions of our data & pathways, and being curious about how others are tackling the same problems.
Becky Taylor
Becky is Director of Continuous Improvement for the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group, leading on large-scale transformation, supporting and enabling a culture of improvement, and the monitoring and tracking of programmes and projects, including productivity and efficiency. She is also the National Transformation Lead for the Federated Data Platform programme, supporting the NHS England Data and Analytics Team. Becky previously worked in management consultancy supporting different acute providers, local authorities and NHS national bodies to transform services. She is a Health Foundation Q Community Fellow and is passionate about data-driven change and supporting colleagues to improve.
Lisa Franklin MBA, MBCS
Lisa is the Director of Information and Technology for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trusts having recently returned from her part time secondment as the interim CDIO for the NHS Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB). At the ICB she led the Digital, Data and Insights team with responsibility for all digital and data programmes and ICS wide services. She was previously the managing director of health informatics for a consulting and services company and has extensive experience in both private and public sector information and systems having worked in the sectors of housing, local government, and education before joining the NHS. Lisa has led several elements of national and local NHS Informatics strategy work including the production of strategy guidance for the NHS, the development of whole system approaches to informatics investment planning and performance improvement methodologies. She was also the national SRO for the NHS Secondary Uses Service, which is the single comprehensive repository for secondary care data in England. Lisa also coordinated the MoU for Health IT agreed between the UK Department of Health and US Health and Human Services and was an advisor during the establishment of the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) which facilitates global collaboration and knowledge sharing in the design and delivery of digital health services to support high quality, sustainable health and care for all.
Meet the Steering Group Members
Host Organisation - East London Foundation Trust
Dr Amar Shah
Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist & Chief Quality Officer
East London NHS Foundation Trust (host organisation)
Acute Sector Team
Director of Financial Sustainability
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Associate Director of Finance (Medical Care Group) and Treasurer
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Associate Director of Business Intelligence
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
Director of Continuous Improvement
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust.
Community Sector Team
Chief Finance Officer and Co-Chair
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Associate Director of Strategic Planning and Performance
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Director of Community and Primary Care
Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust
Divisional Director - Community Services
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
Mental Health Sector Team
Chief Executive
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Executive Director of Strategy, Transformation and Organisational Effectiveness
North London NHS Foundation Trust
Director of Finance and Performance/Deputy CEO
South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust
Director of Quality Management and Chief Nursing Information Officer (CNIO)
Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Integrated Care System Sector Team
Associate Director of Finance (Business Intelligence)
Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB)
Head of Planned Care Commissioning
Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB)
Director of Information and Technology
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight NHS Foundation Trusts
Chief Transformation Officer
Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (ICB)
The Network also have active Reference and User Groups, to find out more click here.