Meet the team
Executive Chair
Maria Kane
Joint CEO of North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
Operational Lead
Dr Andrew Hollowood
Royal United Hospital Bath
Managing Director
Ruth Carr
Clinical Lead for Community Settings of Care
Dr Amelia Randle
Royal United Hospital Bath
Following an early career in Clinical Oncology, I have spent 15 years as a GP in London, Dorset and Somerset. I have experience in a range of clinical leadership roles in system, regional and national positions. I have led a series of complex adaptive systems to sustainable change. I am committed to understanding and reducing systemic inequalities and improving staff and community well-being through influencing organisational cultures. I aim to support continuously improving, high-quality, safe and compassionate care through nurturing interdependence and the contribution made by each of us to the development of others.
Clinical Director
Dr Helen Winter
As a medical oncologist I am committed to delivering the highest quality of care for patients and families affected by cancer. I strive for equity of access for earlier diagnosis, new cancer treatments, cancer genomics and clinical trials. I have a track record in medical education and co-chairs the National Immunotherapy Education Forum. This was developed across SWAG/ Velindre to offer high quality interprofessional education for all those looking after patients on immunotherapy.
Having worked in New Zealand I have experienced the impact of working with community groups to specifically improve patients and their whanau's experience of cancer care and access to EGFR testing for Maori patients with lung cancer.
"Working with clinical teams across SWAG to deliver the ambitions of the Long-Term Plan for our patients is a huge privilege and their expertise, commitment and compassion drives me to seek solutions to ensure our patients get the very best".
Highlights to date include the delivery of the Targeted Lung Health Checks, launch of the Liver screening programme, increasing access to cancer genomics including Lynch Syndrome testing, addressing health inequalities and embedding access for ALL, SWAG workforce strategy ensuring staff feel valued and have opportunities for continual professional learning, Let's Talk Digital, working with third sector including Cancer Research UK, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Leukaemia Care, Matthew's Way, Friends of Caswell Thompson, C’aafi Health and our fabulous patient and public voices reps!
When I am not working, I can be found on the rugby side-line or doing extreme gardening!
Operational Manager
Patricia McLarnon
Patricia is our Alliance Manager overseeing the delivery of the alliance’s programme and managing the team. Patricia started her NHS career as a diagnostic radiographer and then moved into clinical and operational management of cancer services both here and overseas. Wanting to be involved in improving cancer services on a larger scale she moved into the Avon, Somerset, and Wiltshire Cancer Network in 2008 and then joined the SWAG Cancer Alliance in 2017.
Patricia enjoys working within a network role and gets job satisfaction working across multiple organisations and stakeholders, to improve patient care and experience.
In her spare time, she enjoys time with family and friends, long walks with the dogs, and mountain biking across Salisbury Plain, and, when she can get there, scuba diving in her favourite place, Barbados.
Administrator
Nicola Kelly
Programme Manager – Operational Performance, Faster Diagnosis &Treatment Variation
Nicola Gowen
Programme Manager – Early Diagnosis and Personalised Care
Catherine Neck
Business Manager
Vacant
Project Manager, Early Diagnosis, Patient & Public Engagement
Winnie Lo
Winnie started her career as a clinician after training as a nurse, midwife, sonographer and non-medic prescriber in London. She went onto work in highly specialised areas in secondary and tertiary referral centres, where she worked with colleagues to successfully implement new services, care pathways and change clinical practices. Her global healthcare experience spans from the UK, UAE and Canada, from management, research, education and training, patient and stakeholder engagement to commissioning of a new specialty hospital. She holds a MSc in Public Health and has since completed Lean and Change management certifications, which support her greatly in her past and present healthcare improvement work.
Winnie is committed in making healthcare and Cancer services better for all and is passionate about inter-professional collaborative care model which put patients right at the centre, delivering high quality care that is safe, efficient, equitable, cost effective and compassionate. Change is inevitable if improvement were to occur, and for this to happen, we must work together with the wider systems, building on collective strength and develop interdependency to achieve the “win-win” for the patients and all involved.
In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, exploring different cultures, cooking, walking and learning new things. She recently completed the coaching diploma and is looking forward to utilise the knowledge in her own personal development as well as at work. Winnie enjoys volunteering when she has the time. Previously she had supported researchers and clinicians to work with patient and community partners to ensure “lived experiences” are represented in research, service improvement and policy decisions.
Project Manager, Targeted Lung Health Checks
Hassan Amjad
Clinical Advisory Groups Manager
Helen Dunderdale
Cancer Clinical Advisory Group Manager Helen Dunderdale has worked for SWAG Cancer Services since August 2014, and continuously for the NHS since 2001.
Previous roles include Post Operative Care, Critical Care Clinical Audit, Clinical Research, Research Governance, and freelance journalism.
Please contact Helen with any queries about the Fifteen Cancer Clinical Advisory Groups (CAGs), as listed on the website here, and the Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) Protocols available here. helen.dunderdale@uhbw.nhs.uk
