Meet the team - Healthwatch

John Lowther

Chair

John is a solicitor specialising in medical negligence with a particular interest in complicated litigation, where the impact on the patient has been particularly severe. He has worked in the legal sector since 2006, initially qualifying in employment litigation before moving to medical law in 2010. John has considerable experience acting on behalf of grieving families who have lost loved ones, those who have suffered whilst in prison and in claims arising from urology, paediatric, general surgery and orthopaedic treatment. He has worked on claims relating to treatment provided in public and private hospitals, care homes and by ambulance services, GPs and dentists and represented clients in inquests and at the county court. John, who lives in South Tyneside, said: “I am delighted to have joined the Healthwatch South Tyneside Board, as this provides an opportunity to support the delivery of effective health services within the area.”

Arthur McKean

Vice Chair

Arthur has been a care worker for 25 years, working mainly in nursing homes, but latterly in domiciliary care, supported living and residential and nursing homes. He currently works as a care worker for several healthcare agencies. Arthur brings a health and social care worker’s view to the role, as well as insights on what needs to be achieved to improve standards both for clients and staff in homes. He wants to support and promote the aims of Healthwatch South Tyneside as he feels it’s a valuable service for the South Tyneside area.

Nafizah Ahmed

Board Member

Nafizah is a physician associate in primary care based in the North East – a new role that is primarily set to help NHS teams provide continuity of care and a multidisciplinary approach for patients and their families. Nafizah has always been interested in healthcare and since she left secondary education she has sought to broaden her experience within the healthcare industry – from working in a nursing home to gaining shadowing work experience in local hospitals. Nafizah found training as a physician associate in South Tyneside during the COVID-19 pandemic invaluable. She witnessed first hand the impact this had on social care and young people’s services. Prior to her appointment to the Board, Nafizah worked as a Young Healthwatch volunteer for five years, where she was actively involved in trying to help improve service access for young people – in particular sexual health and mental health services. Prior to volunteering at Young Healthwatch, she had been a volunteer for WHIST which allowed her to closely evaluate the care received by women with long term conditions. Nafizah hopes through her role on the board she will be able to help young people to see the great value of volunteering experiences as well as improve the quality and standards of care received by young people in South Tyneside.

Carl Buckley

Board Member

Carl has been self-employed for the past 25 years. Originally working in finance, he has significant experience providing consultancy support to the public sector. He lives and works within South Tyneside and since 2003 has owned a North East-based marketing agency, providing a range of services to both the private and public sectors. Urban River has worked with a number of health-related and community clients, including Healthwatch South Tyneside, to improve their on and offline presence. He lives and works within South Tyneside and is an active governor at two local schools. Through his work in the health sector he has a real passion for looking to improve the overall service delivery within South Tyneside and following on from some successful work with Healthwatch on the development of a new website, he was approached to join the board, a role to which he could not turn down. This presents a great opportunity to support the delivery of a more effective range of health services within the borough, which is a key driver as to why I am involved.

Tracey Grainger

Board Member/HR Portfolio Holder

Tracey is employed as a senior healthcare leader and has more than 30 years’ experience across national, regional and local health and care systems. Her breadth of knowledge and skills includes setting national policy and strategic priorities to help the deliver the NHS Long Term Plan, alongside leading NHS transformation in collaboration with health and social care partners. Tracey’s passion is driven by making a difference to people’s lives through improving health inequalities to ensure high quality, equitable healthcare provision is available for all. Her motivation for joining the Healthwatch South Tyneside board as a co-opted member comes from being a lifelong resident of South Tyneside and wanting to ensure the voice of the community influences the effective delivery of services needed for the people of the borough. As a senior healthcare leader, the experience gained with Healthwatch will also enable continuous professional development, listening to the needs of diverse community groups, will broaden her knowledge to support the future design and delivery of services for the population we serve. Tracey’s family all work for the NHS and she is a proud parent of her two sons who completed the NHS apprenticeship scheme and have become qualified NHS electrical and mechanical engineers, keeping our hospital and community premises operationally safe.

Barbara Tennet

Board Member

Barbara has worked within BT South Tyneside, South Tyneside Council and South Tyneside Homes – all within a customer service capacity. This experience has provided a good understanding of the landscape of the borough, stakeholders and services available. She currently works within South Tyneside Homes Welfare Support team as a Social Navigator, assisting residents in improving their financial wellbeing. Her role requires a good level of understanding of the welfare benefit system and charitable funds/grants that may be available. Barbara enjoys working in the community at outreach sessions that have been created to ensure those who are most vulnerable have access to services. She is passionate about ensuring that residents’ voices are heard – overcoming barriers that people face and working towards improving services within our borough.

Angela Fahey

Board Member

Angela is an accomplished professional with 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Currently serving as a Senior Manager within the digital department at Gateshead Health, Angela is responsible for leading and promoting digital transformation initiatives. With a strong passion for contributing to society, Angela is dedicated to ensuring that everyone has a voice and is treated equitably and fairly.

As a leader, Angela strives to raise the aspirations of others and inspire them to reach their full potential. Recognising the importance of transparency and accountability in healthcare, Angela is excited about the opportunity to take on a position on the board at Healthwatch. With a wealth of knowledge and expertise in healthcare and digital innovation, Angela is committed to making a positive impact and driving meaningful change in the industry.