Why did you become a governor?
My late brother suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and I have long had an interest in mental health. I want to play a part in the work of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and raise awareness of its work in mental health care.
Which area of the trust's work would you like to become involved with and why?
I would like to learn more about patients' experiences of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. I think knowing how those suffering from mental illness respond to the care offered and talking to them about it is something that as a governor I could usefully do.
What skills and knowledge do you feel you can bring to the trust?
I am a patron of the mental health charities SANE, and Triumph Over Phobia (TOP UK) which runs self-help groups all over the country for those suffering from a phobia or obsessive compulsive disorder.
As a radio talks producer for the BBC for many years, I often covered stories about mental health. I now run the opinion leader research company YouGovStone - our panel regularly answer our surveys on the issues of the day.
