Meet the Board - Healthwatch Birmingham

Healthwatch Birmingham Board

For details of upcoming Board meetings visit our Events page here. For Board minutes click here.

Board

Danielle Oum - Chair

Danielle joined Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust as Chair in 2015 having previously chaired Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.

Danielle has more than 10 years' experience of leading public service business improvement and programme management, and... more

Catherine Weir - Non-Executive Director

Catherine has lived in Birmingham since 2011, with her husband born in Birmingham, his parents having moved here from Jamaica, and their children are at school here.

Catherine is passionate about ensuring that health and social care... more

Charles Ashton-Gray - Non-Executive Director

Charles has had a long and varied background in local government, which has taken him from senior leadership roles at a rural borough in Norfolk, to the largest local authority in Europe. Charles has therefore been able to amass a depth and breadth of experience and a range of skills that allows him to approach the challenges of business life with confidence and assuredness.

He has a long experience of leading, motivating, coaching and developing individuals and teams for high performance. In corporate policy and strategy as well as finance Charles has transformed teams to such an extent that this has been recognised and commented upon by external evaluators.

In the field of adult social care, Charles led and motivated a team which accomplished a task that most commentators thought was impossible and in doing so improved the lives of over 1,000 older adults in Birmingham.

Charles is an accountant by profession, but doesn’t believe that money is for counting. It’s for spending! Spending to make change, spending to make things better. He therefore has a wide and successful experience of bid-writing, be it at a programme level or at an individual project level.

“Whatever I’ve been doing, be it community regeneration, commissioning adult social care services, or changing procedures, I’ve always worked collaboratively with citizens and am wedded to conventions of co-production, co-design and co-delivery.

"I was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, but attended North Staffordshire Polytechnic in the mid-1980s. This was the beginning of my love for the Midlands and Birmingham in particular. “Although I returned to Norfolk at the conclusion of my studies, I promised myself that one day I would return. And in 2004, that’s what I did!" less

Graham Parker - Non-Executive Director

After a career in manufacturing and international sales of Giftware and Tableware, Graham went on to use and develop his business, financial, and management skills within the Private, Not-for-Profit, Public, and Care Sectors. He is an experienced Chairman, Non-Executive Director,... more

Jasbir Rai - Company Secretary

Jas is responsible for the efficient administration of Healthwatch, ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and for ensuring that decisions of directors are implemented.

Jas is the Deputy CEO of BVSC and has worked in the sector for... more

Neelam Heera - Non-Executive Director

Neelam Heera is the founder of Cysters, a grassroots organisation dedicated to supporting women with reproductive and mental health issues. Cysters work with marginalised communities and remain culturally sensitive despite challenging topics around these health concerns. The group work with... more

Dr Peter Rookes - Non-Executive Director

Dr Peter Rookes is an experienced health service manager, educator and researcher, who has worked extensively in both the state and non-state sectors in the UK and overseas.

Peter most recently researched relationships between faith-based health providers and... more

Qadar Zadar - Non-Executive Director

Qadar is a Director within the Health Service and also the Leader of Dudley Metropolitan Council. He has extensive experience of Health and Social care provision having worked in provider and Commissioner Organisations and also across a range of specialities... more

Tim Phillips - Volunteer Board Representative

Tim Joined Birmingham City Council Older Adults section in 1994 post qualification as a Social Worker and spent 23 years as a practitioner and Assistant Manager leaving the council in December 2017. In the years of being a practitioner with... more