Patient Safety Group Biographies

Miss Anna Paisley is a Consultant General and Upper GI Surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. She has chaired the General Surgery Directorate’s Quality Improvement Team and was Lead Clinician responsible for the introduction of the surgical stream of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme to NHS Lothian. She was elected on to Council in 2015 and has chaired the College’s Patient Safety Group since 2018.

She has a particular interest in surgical recruitment, training and assessment. She was Regional Surgical Adviser for South East Scotland for 4 years, is current Year One Director of the Edinburgh Surgical Sciences Qualification and TPD for General Surgery for SE Scotland.

Mrs Claire Morgan is a Consultant in Restorative Dentistry. She sits on Dental Council and joined the RCSEd Patient Safety group in October 2020. She is a Patient Safety Specialist at Barts Health NHS Trust based at the Royal London Hospital, and Patient Safety Officer for the Association of Dental Hospitals. Claire gained an MSc in Patient Safety from Imperial College in 2021, and has completed all HSSIB patient safety investigator training courses.

Her main clinical interest lies in the Restorative care of Head and Neck Cancer patients, and in her Trust she is a core member of the Head and Neck Multidisciplinary Team. As an educational supervisor she is committed to higher training in Restorative Dentistry, and was previously lead examiner in Management for the Intercollegiate Fellowship Examination for her speciality.

Dr Sarah Manton is Director of the Faculty of Dental Trainers and the former Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at The Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. She is a Specialist in Restorative, Periodontics and Special Care Dentistry and is currently working in specialist practice. She was Consultant (Honorary Senior lecturer) in Restorative and Special Care Dentistry at Dundee Dental School, where she led the sedation and special care teaching and clinical services. Previous posts have been held in university, hospital and primary care settings, including positions as Clinical Dental Director of a Community Dental Service and as a Lecturer in Oral Medicine and Periodontics. She is currently the Chair of the British National Formulary Dental Advisory Group.

I am an Obstetrics & Gynaecology trainee based in South-East Scotland with an interest in gynaecological oncology. I have an ongoing interest in medical education having completed a Masters in Health Professions Education during my training, where I focused on the roles of simulation training. 

I am currently out of programme completing the Scottish Clinical Leadership Fellowship (2023-2024), hosted by both the RCSEd and RCPSG, and I look forward to working with the Patient Safety Group to bring these interests and ideas together to improve collaboration within our working teams as well as patient experiences and outcomes.

Professor Angus J M Watson is a Consultant General and Colorectal Surgeon at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness. He holds honorary chairs at the Universities of Aberdeen, Stirling and the Highlands & Islands. He is an elected member of council of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and a Clinical Advisor to the Scottish government. He trained in Manchester, Scotland and New Zealand before being appointed a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at Manchester Royal Infirmary in 2005. Professor Watson moved to Inverness in 2009.

His main clinical interests are surgery for inflammatory bowel disease and benign anorectal conditions. His research interests are diverse. He is a co-applicant and Principal Investigator of a wide range of national and international clinical trials. His innovations include the Scottish Surgical Boot Camp, and he is the instigator and clinical lead of the NHS Scotland Colon Capsule programme. Angus has a number of grants to promote surgical skills acquisition using bio-synthetic tissue and augmented reality. 

Mr Ray Delicata is a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board Hospitals (The Grange University Hospital; Nevill Hall Hospital and the Royal Gwent Hospital) in South Wales. He led the colorectal Cancer Multi-disciplinary team for Neville Hall Hospital from 2001 until 2020 and was Lead for Colorectal Services for Aneurin Bevan Health Board from 2007 until 2012. He served as deputy chairman of the South East Wales Colorectal Cancer Network until 2010. He also served as member of Council of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland from 2006 until 2009 representing South Wales. He is the author of several original articles and book chapters. He is a member of the Court of Examiners of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and an Honorary Lecturer in Surgery and Examiner for the Final MB for the University of Wales. He currently serves as Regional Surgical Advisor for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and is a member on the steering committee of the Faculty of Perioperative Care of the same College. He is also a Member of the Faculty of Surgical Trainers of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He represents the Faculty of Perioperative Care on the Patient Safety Group.

Mr Richard Steyn is the past Honorary Treasurer of the FPHC.  

Mr Chris Sanderson is Head of the College’s Centre in Birmingham and has responsibility for policy and public affairs, external relations and stakeholder engagement. Chris also works closely with the College’s Professional Standards Committee and International Postgraduate Deanery.

Professor Steven Yule is the Chair of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Edinburgh and Director of Non-Technical Skills at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He is an organizational psychologist and Human Factors scientist, and internationally recognized for his research on non-technical skills, patient safety, and simulation in surgery. Current work on the relationship between non-technical skills and patient outcomes, surgical safety in low and middle income contexts, coaching for performance enhancement, and astronaut training for medical event management on long duration spaceflight is funded by National Institutes for Health (NIH) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He recently returned to Scotland after eight years in Boston USA, where he served as Director of Research and Innovation at the STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Mr Michael Moneypenny was an anaesthetist for 20 years and is now involved full-time in education and training. Michael is the regional director (East Africa) of the Centre for Innovation in Medical Education (CIME) at the Aga Khan University. Michael is based at the CIME in Nairobi and responsible for the other two CIMEs in Dar Es Salaam and Kampala. Michael is interested in using simulation-based learning to apply a human factors approach to optimising health and care systems as well as human wellbeing. 

Professor Bryn Baxendale is a Consultant Anaesthetist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH). His clinical work is primarily covering emergency, major trauma and vascular surgical services. He helped design the Trent Simulation & Clinical Skills Centre at NUH and has been Director of this regional facility since it opened in 2004. In 2009 he was appointed as an Honorary Professor of Clinical Simulation at the School of Psychology, University of Nottingham. He became the inaugural President of the Association of Simulated Practice in Healthcare (ASPiH) from 2009-14, which is now the leading UK organisation addressing the use of simulation to enhance professional training and patient safety in healthcare.  He is the Clinical Lead for the MSc in Quality and Patient Safety Improvement at the University of Nottingham.

He has current national roles with Health Education England (HEE) and the Royal College of Anaesthetists related to the strategic implementation, quality assurance and evaluation of simulation-based and immersive learning technologies within healthcare. He is interested particularly in the development of individual, team-based and organisational resilience and exploring how systems design (Human Factors) can influence staff performance and well-being. He helped co-author the national strategic vision for simulation and immersive learning technologies in health and care, and his latest work at a national level with HEE has focused on implementing the strategy to support specialty training recovery and reform, enhancement of placement capacity, and initiation of a national faculty development programme relevant to educators, practitioners, technicians, and education managers.

I live in Edinburgh with my wife. We have 4 grown up children and 5 grandchildren. We have been foster carers since 1986 and have lost count of the number of children who have been part of our family over the 35 years. Some came for just a few days and others stayed for several years. I am now retired but prior to retiring I worked for 13 years as a Neighbourhood Support Officer with the City of Edinburgh Council. Prior to doing this job I worked within the charity sector. I do sessions with the Edinburgh Patient Partnership Supporting Assessment & Teaching. I also represent the Edinburgh branch of the National Axial Spondylarthritis Society on Arthritis & Musculoskeletal Cross-Party Group at the Scottish Parliament.

I am founder chairman of a new Scottish Charity called Seat Spot. Seat Spot is working to make our High Streets more accessible by encouraging shops, Council Offices etc to provide some seating for people of all ages with mobility and fatigue issues. I have been a member of Abbeyhill Baptist Church since 1976. I am a Trustee of this lively fellowship. As well as serving on the Leadership Team I am one of two Child Protection Officers for the church. I am delighted to be part of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Patient Safety Committee and look forward to working with the rest of the team in the weeks and months ahead.

Ms Edith Scott, a Kidney Transplant Patient since 2012, now retired, worked in the local newspaper industry for 43 years.

Edith is a Rotarian and past President of her local club where she's been Secretary for the last 5 years. A lover of all thing’s community Edith has served and is still serving on many local committees and charity boards, she is Secretary/treasurer of the South East Scotland Kidney Patients Association Kidney Patients and until Covid could be found promoting the association in the hospital foyers and of course raising much needed funds. Edith is also President of her local woman's institute, where once a month she likes to upgrade her culinary skills though her husband of 49 years might dispute that!

Mr Majid Mukadam MBE FRCS(C-Th), MRCS(Edin), MCh(CVTS), PGCE(UoB). Majid works as an Associate Specialist in Cardiothoracic Transplantation and leads the cardiothoracic Retrieval service at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. He has been Trust’s Clinical Tutor for SAS doctors since 2010 and oversees their professional development. He is a Council Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and leads its SASLC Committee.  He has keen interest in teaching and training, did PGCE in Health Education from the University of Birmingham and is a GMC accredited Clinical Supervisor as well as an Appraiser for the Trust. He was recently awarded MBE by Her Majesty the Queen for his services to transplant patients.

My name is Sarah Healy and I am a Consultant ENT head and neck surgeon at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. I have been involved in RCSEd activities for several years and am currently Co-chair of the Younger Fellows’ committee, a member of the ENT SSB and part of the Robotic Task force group. I am excited to take over this role as representative for the Younger Fellows’ and work with the team to drive improvements in education and patient care.

Dr Annie Sorbie is a Lecturer in Medical Law and Ethics at the University of Edinburgh, School of Law, with a research and teaching portfolio, and a Deputy Director of the Mason Institute for Medicine, Life Sciences and the Law. She is a medical lawyer by training (currently non-practising) with over 14 years’ experience in legal practice in the health, social care and regulatory sector (September 2001 – December 2015, Partner from 2009). She has extensive experience of providing strategic advice on matters of health regulatory practice and policy, both in health and social care regulation, and also more widely within the NHS and private sectors.

Mr James Tomlinson is a Consultant Spinal Surgeon at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. He is Educational TPD for T&O in Yorkshire and a member of the Orthopaedic Selection Design Group. He is a member of the RCSEd NOTSS faculty and has supervised a number of educational leadership fellows.

Ms Katie Hurst is a General Surgery Registrar (ST4) in the Thames Valley deanery, with an interest in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery. During completion of her academic foundation programme and academic clinical fellowship in Oxford, she sat on the RCSEd Trainees' Committee for 3 years. Katie is extremely passionate about improving trainee morale, as well as teamwork in the workplace. She orchestrated the RCSEd roadshow 'Lets Cycle It', and is currently chair of the RCSEd Sustainability Champions. Outside work, Katie enjoys cycling, running and spending time with friends.

Helen's passion for improved patient safety is informed by personal family insight into the impact of unsafe care and the ineffectiveness of organisational responses to learn from error.

Helen is an experienced leader in organisational effectiveness and transformational change. She has held leadership roles in healthcare in the UK and the WHO, the National Patient Safety Agency, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Parliamentary Health Services Ombudsman and the Charity Commission.

Helen’s previous leadership roles in patient safety include, as Director of Operations of the National Patient Safety Agency, designing the first patient safety infrastructure and policy framework for the NHS in England, and Director of the National Reporting and Learning System. At the WHO, she held a range of roles, including partnership and patient safety programme management and executive lead of the global ‘Patients For Patient Safety’ programme.

Mr Majid Rashid is a General Surgery trainee in Scotland with interest in Oncoplastic Breast surgery. He is enthusiastic about medical education, medical leadership and how both can impact on patient safety and outcomes. As member of the Trainee Steering Group for the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management (FMLM) he runs a monthly book club you can follow on X/Twitter (@MajidMRashid).

He is currently out of programme completing the Scottish Clinical Leadership Fellowship (2022-23) with RCSEd and NHS Grampian. His work with the Patient Safety Group is centred around how we can build healthier teams in healthcare to improve both staff well-being and consequently patient safety.

Mr Chris McEwan has served as a Councillor on Darlington Borough Council since 1999, holding several post including Children Services, Resources and Lead for Economy and Regeneration. In terms of day job, shortly after completing a degree in Economics he joined the NHS, originally through the finance route, and undertook a number of senior roles over the last 25 years. He left the NHS in early 2017, with his last assignment being within a Commissioning Support Unit as Head of Service for Continuing Health Care across the north of England working for a number of CCGs. Chris has worked as a Local Government Association Peer Member since 2007, latterly, and since leaving the NHS, undertaking a number of Prevention Matters assignments. Chris is currently Deputy Leader of Darlington Borough Council (and lead for economy) and also Chair a large primary Care network as a Lay Chair. Chris also has an interest in Obesity nationally and internationally and has undertaken work looking at the links between Obesity and Productivity and impact on upon the economy, particularly for the Tees valley.

My nursing career has been based around two main themes, that of Urology and Theatres. In 2001, I began my qualified life as a staff nurse in theatre at Salford, practising as a Scrub Nurse. This was for a variety of forms of surgery such as Gynaecology, ENT, General surgery, Minor Orthopaedics and Urology. However Urology became my main place and I became department lead on this. In 2005 I became Charge Nurse and combined my other responsibilities with that of Urology lead.

In 2006 the opportunity to try my hand at Clinical Nurse Specialist came along. I took it and became a Specialist Nurse in Urology. This role gave me the chance to see the beginning and end of the urology patient’s journey. I was able to run a number of nurse lead clinics as well as assist in consultant run clinics. This position greatly enhanced my assessment of patients, understanding of the disease process and decision-making skills. I enjoyed working closely with other Urology CNS and Urologists to give the people of Salford great care.

By 2011 it was time to change. I had been missing theatre life and wanted to get back to it. I have always been interested in the Assisting roles in theatre and I decide it was time to explore it. It was very sad to leave an excellent Urology department but to develop myself further; it was time to move on. The move was to Manchester Royal Infirmary main theatre to join the Emergency Theatre team and the National Organ retrieval Service (NORS) retrieval team. This position would give me the opportunity to train as an assistant in theatre and experience new types of surgery to me such as Max Fax, Transplant and Vascular.

I completed Advanced Scrub Practitioner (ASP) part1 at this time

February 2016, I took up the position of Surgical Care Practitioner in Urology at Salford Royal Hospital.

MSc in Surgical Care Practitioner (Urology) was competed via Edge Hill University 2018.

I completed my NMP at level 7 at University of Salford 2021.

In 2021 I had the honour to become the augural Chair of the newly formed Association of Surgical Care Practitioners. [CR – Recently handed over]

In September 2022 I joined the faculty of Edge Hill University to work part time as a Senior Lecturer on the SCP MSc course.

I am a Vascular Surgery Registrar based in the West of Scotland and have a special interest in improving surgical training.

I am currently out of programme completing a Doctorate in Cognitive Load in Surgical Training within the Saberlab at the University of Edinburgh, supported by the RCSEd and the Vascular Society. This entails utilising audiovisual recordings to assess surgical performance and analysing data from non-invasive physiological sensors placed on surgeons to assess their cognitive load during procedures. If we can identify modifiable factors which can improve or worsen surgeon cognitive load, we can pre-empt, minimise, or avoid cognitive overload. This will lead to better surgical performance and training, robust operating theatre safety standards and improved patient outcomes.