Meet the team

Find out more about our staff and get in touch to see how we can work together to make care better

Healthwatch Manager: Gillian Keniston-Goble

Gill leads and manages the work of Healthwatch Somerset. She guides and supports the Healthwatch Somerset Board to ensure our work programme addresses the health and care needs of local people in the context of local and national health and care priorities and developments. She manages our engagement team and oversees the work of our volunteers, to encourage public involvement and participation in the monitoring, evaluation, and improvement of health and social care services. She promotes the value of listening to patient and public feedback and represents the views of local people to those responsible for health and care in Somerset to inform decisions about service development and improvement.

Volunteer Officer: Sheila Burridge

Sheila is the main point of contact for Healthwatch Somerset Volunteers, and recruits new volunteers, co-ordinates all volunteer activities including arranging induction sessions, on-going training, and volunteer supervision to ensure that volunteers are fully supported in their role.

Engagement Officer: Tanya Camberwell

Tanya’s role is to seek out and listen to the people who live in Somerset, to hear their experiences of using health and care services and record the issues and concerns raised by individuals and groups that are then used to inform commissioners and service providers. She also signposts people to where they can get the best support to help them, and works with our volunteers in order to further research and develop particular projects that form part of Healthwatch Somerset’s Work Plan.

Information & Signposting Administrator: Karen Ball

Karen’s role involves being the first point of contact for people who wish to share their feedback on health and social care services they have used, signposting people on how to complain about a service, and also relevant available services and charities who can give them help and support. She assists with maintaining the website, and using social media to keep people living in Somerset informed of the team’s work. Karen also organises events, training and Board meetings, and acts as PA to Healthwatch Somerset’s Manager and the Board.

ICS Project Officer: Mandy Starks

Mandy has joined us to focus on understanding how well health and care services join up in the ‘One Somerset Integrated Care System’ (ICS), which brings together health, social care, public health and other public, voluntary and community sector partners.

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Patient Safety Partners (PSP): Claire Dransfield and Glenys Salisbury

PSP are new and evolving roles to help improve patient safety across health and care in Somerset. Working closely with the Integrated Care Board (ICB) Quality, Improvement and Safety team, Claire and Glenys are members of the ICBs Quality Committee and Somerset System Quality Group. They talk with patients and staff about safety and what matters to them. They also support the safety training of staff and help develop patient safety information resources.