They are Local Government representative members Cllr Elizabeth Adger, Cllr Tim Atwood, Cllr Sean McGuigan, Cllr Marion Smith and Cllr Trevor Wilson; Trade Union representative member Mrs Janice Smyth; Voluntary & Community members Mr Brian Compston, Mr Errol Hutchinson, Miss Elaine Kelly, Mrs Rena Shepherd and Ms Koulla Yiasouma; and lay members Dr Paul Coulter, Mrs Margaret Harte, Dr Sheila Kelly, Dr May McCann and Prof Hugh McKenna.
The appointments are for the period from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2013, apart from Dr Sheila Kelly, whose term of appointment will be effective from 1 May 2009 to 30 April 2013.
Notes to Editors:
1. The Review of Public Administration was launched by the Northern Ireland Executive in June 2002 to deliver wide ranging and comprehensive modernisation and reform across the public sector.
2. For Health and Social Care Services in Northern Ireland, there were two major phases involved in the Review of Public Administration, the first being the establishment of the five new integrated Health and Social Care Trusts and the retention of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Trust with effect from 1 April 2007. The second phase included establishing new organisational arrangements to replace the four Health and Social Services Boards, the four Health and Social Services Councils and a number of agencies. Following consultation, the Minister decided to establish the Patient and Client Council (PCC) to replace the four Health and Social Services Councils.
3. Role of the Patient and Client Council
- Until 1 April 2009, the Consumer voice in relation to health and personal social services was provided through four Health and Social Services Councils. These four Councils have been replaced by a single health and social care user’s body – The Patient and Client Council. The functions of the Patient and Client Council will be to: represent the interests of the public; promote the involvement of the public; provide assistance to individuals making or intending to make a complaint relating to health and social care; encourage health and social care bodies to provide advice and information to the public about the design, commissioning and delivery of health and social services; and such other functions as may be prescribed.
- The board of the PCC is made up of 16 non-executive directors and a non-executive chair. The non-executive directors include a Trade Union Representative Member, five Local Government Representative Members, five Voluntary and Community Members and five Lay Members.
4. Non-executive directors of the Patient and Client Council receive annual remuneration of £3,530 for a time commitment of two days per month.
5. Appointments to the Patient and Client Council are made with the approval of the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety.
6. These appointments were made in accordance with the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland. A selection panel, which included an independent assessor, as required under the Commissioner’s Code, considered the suitability of all candidates. The final decision on the appointments rested with the Minister.
7. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for the political activity of appointees (if any declared) to be published. Mrs Elizabeth Adger, Mr Tim Atwood, Mr Sean McGuigan, Mrs Rena Shepherd, Cllr Mrs Marion Smith and Cllr Trevor Wilson declared they had engaged in political activity in the last five years. The remaining appointees declared they had not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
8. Pen pictures
- Cllr Elizabeth Adger lives in Ballymena. Mrs Adger is an elected representative and member of Ballymena Borough Council. She is a member of the Improving the Service User Experience Steering Group and the Northern Area Ambulance Service Liaison Group and was formerly an elected representative on the Northern Health and Social Services Council until 31 March 2009. She holds no other public appointments and has engaged in political activity for the DUP in the last five years.
- Cllr Tim Attwood BSSc Hons lives in Belfast. Mr Attwood is an elected representative for the Upper Falls area of Belfast City Council. He is a former Director of the Belfast Group of the Citizens Advice Bureau (CABx). He is currently a member of Belfast Education and Library Board for which he receives attendance and travel expenses, the West Belfast Partnership Board and the Employment Services Board. He has engaged in political activity for the SDLP in the last five years.
- Mr Brian Compston BA MCIM lives in Belfast. Mr Compston was formerly Southern Area Manager, Business in the Community and former Head of Domestic Marketing, NIE plc. He is Honorary Treasurer of the Citizens Advice NI and was formerly a member on the Eastern Health and Social Services Council until 31 March 2009. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He holds no other public appointments and has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
- Dr Paul Coulter MA BSc MB BCh BAO LM lives in Lisburn. He is currently Director of Student and Equipping ministries at Glenabbey Church. Dr Coulter was previously employed as Associate Pastor with Belfast Chinese Christian Church and as a Senior House Officer with the NI Hospice and the former Belfast City Hospital Trust. Since April 2005 he has served as a Lay Magistrate in the Belfast Division. He holds no other public appointments and has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
- Mrs Margaret Harte, MSc BA (Hons), lives in Ballygowan, Omagh. She was employed by the Western Education and Library Board (WELB) as an Educational Psychologist for over twenty years prior to taking up post as Education Officer, Special Education, and Designated Officer for Child Protection with the Board in 1998. She represented WELB on the Western Area Child Protection Committee until her retirement in 2006. She is currently an Independent member of the Adoption Panel of the Western Trust. She has been a Lay Chairperson and Convenor for complaints for the Eastern and Southern Boards. She holds no other public appointments and has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
- Mr Errol Hutchinson MSc lives in Ballymena. Until 2001, Mr Hutchinson had been a Director in a manufacturing company for some 20 years. He is Director of Hiddenloop Ltd., a Computer Software company. He is currently employed, on a part-time basis, as an external advisor by the North Eastern Education and Library Board. He is also Chairman of the Live Wires Group and Patient representative of the NI Regional Cardiac Services Network Board. He holds no other public appointments and has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
- Miss Elaine Kelly BSc Hons lives in Belfast. Miss Kelly is currently employed by The National Union of Students and Union of Students in Ireland (NUS-USI) as Project Co-ordinator, Open Your Mind Project. She was formerly a Research and Policy Officer with Opportunity Youth. She holds no other public appointments and has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
- Dr Sheila Kelly MB BCh BAO FRSCI lives in Holywood. Dr Kelly retired in October 2008 from her post as Consultant in Palliative Medicine at the Ulster Community Hospital Trust and Medical Director at the Marie Curie Hospice. Dr Kelly was the first Consultant in Palliative Medicine to be appointed in this specialty in the NHS in NI when she took up the post in 1997. She is currently employed (until 30 April 2009) as a part time Locum Consultant in Palliative Medicine at the Belfast Trust. She holds no other public appointments and has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
- Dr May McCann lives in Belfast. Until early retirement she lectured in Social Anthropology at QUB. She subsequently worked in the voluntary sector, in community education, research and policy work, initially, in the women’s sector, more recently in the area of mental health. She is currently a Carer Advocate in CAUSE, a voluntary organisation providing peer-led support and advocacy to carers of persons with serious mental illness. She holds no other public appointments and has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
- Cllr Sean McGuigan lives in Killeeshil. He is a member of Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council as an elected member for the Clogher Valley Ward. He is currently a local government representative on the Strategic Waste Board, on the Housing Council and on both Monitoring and Steering Committees of Interreg iv. He is vice chair of the Joint Committee overseeing the Rural Development Programme, a member of the Interim Voluntary Transition Committee between Dungannon, Cookstown and Magherafelt Councils, and a full and executive member of NI Local Government Association and a member of the Board of Governors of 4 local schools. He holds no other public appointments and has engaged in political activity for the Sinn Fein Party in the last five years.
- Prof Hugh McKenna CBE PhD BSc (Hons) lives in Jordanstown, Newtownabbey. Prof McKenna is a nurse by background and is currently Dean of the Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, University of Ulster. He has numerous publications relating to subjects such as quality of health care and the healthcare workforce. He serves on committees of the Ulster Cancer Foundation, the NI Chest, Heart and Stroke Association, the Parkinson’s Disease Society and previously, the DHSSPS. He holds no other public appointments and has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
- Mrs Rena Shepherd lives in Belfast. Mrs Shepherd has extensive senior level experience in Business. She is currently a member of council and the chair of the policy committee at the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce. At present she is a partner in a Consultancy firm which provides support to businesses in the areas of: strategic planning, leadership development, corporate governance and diversity issues. She is heavily involved with a number of charitable organisations that support and lobby on behalf of people with disabilities. She is a member of the parades commission for Northern Ireland for which she receives £19,884 per annum. She has engaged in political activity for the Women’s Coalition Party in the last five years.
- Cllr Marion Smith BA lives in Bangor. She is an elected representative and member of North Down Borough Council, Chair (from 1 April 2009) of the District Policing Partnership for which she receives £4,800 per annum, Vice Chair of the Local Government Staff Commission for which she receives £100 per meeting and travel expenses, and a Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator. She was a non-executive director of the former Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust. She has engaged in political activity for the UUP in the last five years.
- Mrs Janice Smyth lives in Ballynure. A nurse by profession, Mrs Smyth is currently employed as Deputy Director/Senior Officer for Employment Relations at the Royal College of Nursing. She was formerly employed by DHSSPS as a Nursing Officer and prior to that by the Northern Health and Social Services Board as a Registration and Inspection Officer. She holds no other public appointments and has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
- Cllr Trevor Wilson lives in Cookstown. He is an elected representative and member of Cookstown District Council. Cllr Wilson is currently employed as a Laboratory Technician by Lafarge Cement. He is currently Vice-Chairman of Cookstown Enterprise Centre and Chairman of Cookstown Arts and Culture Committee and of Burnavon Theatre Committee. He was formerly a non-executive director of the former Homefirst Trust. He holds no other public appointments and has engaged in political activity for the UUP in the last five years.
- Ms Kyriakoulla (Koulla) Yiasouma MBA BA (Hons) lives in Bangor. She is employed by Include Youth as Director with responsibility for the oversight and management of the activities of the organisation ensuring that they promote the rights of and best practice for young people at risk or in need and to ensure the financial viability of the organisation. She is currently appointed as a member of the Probation Board for NI for which she receives £5,050 per annum. She has not engaged in any political activity in the last five years.
9. Media queries to DHSSPS Press Office on 02890 520074, or out of office hours contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned.
