Speakers Biographies:
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Insights and update from the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales Office
– Rachel Bowen, Director of Policy,Older People’s Commissioner for Wales
Rachel Bowen has been Director of Policy at the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales Office since September 2022. She is responsible for the quality and impact of policy and research evidence, analysis and outputs. Rachel leads on specific areasof the Commissioner’s work, ensuring excellent working relationships with olderpeople and other stakeholders. Rachel ensures that older people’s views and voices inform the Commissioner’s research and policy work through engagement with thediversity of the older population.
Prior to joining the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales’s team, Rachel worked in senior policy and public affairs roles at Colleges Wales, FSB Wales, and MindCymru, and spent time in the civil service. She has a PhD in medieval and early modern history. Outside of work, Rachel is a keen runner and recently won the Welsh Ultra marathon championship.
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Alan’s Story – A Lasting Memory
– Carolyn Joyce, Registered Dental Hygienist and Lead for Mouthcare
Improvement for Vulnerable Adults Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Carolyn qualified as a Dental Hygienist at Cardiff Dental School in 1994 and is currently the lead for mouthcare Improvement for vulnerable people in Aneurin
Bevan University Health Board. The role includes the delivery the Gwen am Byth A lasting Smile mouthcare improvement programme for older adults living in care homes.
Carolyn has been appointed as the South Wales DCP representative on the All- Wales Special Interest Group for Special Oral Health Care (SIG) and DCP representative on British Society of Gerodontology (BSG), for a number of years, groups that she feels are invaluable in its work in improving the oral health and care of vulnerable people.
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Next Steps for Stroke services in Wales
– Dr Shakeel Ahmad, National Clinical Lead for Stroke, University Hospital of
Wales
Shakeel Ahmad was appointed as a stroke consultant in 2009. He has been the clinical lead for stroke in Cardiff & Vale University Health Board until he was appointed as National Clinical Lead for Wales. He has completed 1-year IHI Improvement Advisory fellowship at Boston, USA and has led on a number of
successful quality improvement projects. He led and collaborated on the ‘Stop A Stroke Project’ with Primary Care Quality & Public Health Wales to develop a tool toidentify high risk stroke patients in atrial fibrillation that require intervention in line with up to date NICE guidance. This project was supported by Welsh Government and now being implemented across Wales.
His other current roles are, the Regional Specialty Advisor for Stroke, member of the Stroke Specialist Advisory Committee – RCP London, Training Programme Director for Stroke in Wales and Chair of All Wales Thrombectomy Network Group. In his last post he was Associate Medical Director for Neurosciences & Complex Disease –Welsh Health Specialised Services (WHSSC), that has commissioned mechanical
thrombectomy service for Wales. He has led the roll out and implementation of AI for stroke imaging across Wales and led on a pilot to test the Pre-Hospital Video Triage (PVT).
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The Stroke Association – Rebuilding Lives after Stroke
– Katie Chappelle, Associate Director – Wales, Stroke Association
Katie has worked for the Stroke Association since 2018. During that time she has advised on the Welsh Government’s Quality Statement for Stroke, launched the Stroke Association’s Welsh Language Policy and worked in partnership with Mind Cymru to address the mental health needs of stroke survivors in Wales. Previously Katie spent more than ten years working in various UK-wide charities with operations in Wales, leading on communications, public relations and public affairs. Before that, Katie trained and worked as a broadcast journalist. Katie is also Chair of Trustees for Cardiff Women’s Aid, a charity which supports women in Cardiff who are experiencing gender-based violence.
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Hospital Mouthcare, an overlooked aspect of care
– Sarah Francis, Oral Health Coordinator, Swansea Bay UHB
Sarah Franics is a Dental nurse with over 34 years of experience, qualifying from Bristol Dental Hospital in 1991. She has a wide range of experience in GDS, CDS and HDS, working in Morriston Hospital for the last 15 years. During this time Sarah has worked for the South Wales Cleft Lip and Palate team and has been
proactive in fundraising for Cleft Lip and Palate Association (CLAPA) with annual cake sales and raffles.
Sarah has gained post qualifications in Oral Health and Orthodontics as well as extended duties including fluoride varnish, plaque and debris scoring and impression taking. Sarah has always had a passion for Oral health, working with Design to Smile as a secondment, and delivering sessions on mouth care for Marie Currie Project Echo. She is a Society of British Dental Nurses (SBDN) ambassador for Wales and is
passionate about promoting dental nurses and developing CPD opportunities and hosting study days for DCP’s. Sarah is part of the Mouthcare Matters at End-of-Life steering group which is helping to promote good mouthcare and best practice for patients at end of life.
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Remimazolam – The ups and no-so-up, and some case studies
– Mick Allen, Consultant and Hon. Senior Lecturer in Sedation and Special Care
Dentistry, University Dental Hospital and School, Cardiff
Mick Allen has had a long and varied career in dentistry in South Wales. He sedated his first patient in 1986 when midazolam was still in its infancy. He has been a university teacher, practice owner and dental advisor to health boards and Welsh Government. In 2016 he created the UK's first employee owned GDS practice and, alongside special care dentistry, is interested in health-inclusion dentistry.He advocates the use of low-dose benzodiazepines by GDPs for anxious patients. He is a keen cyclist and sea-kayaker in his spare time.
– Steve Woolley Consultant Special Care Dentistry, Community Dental Service, Aneurin Bevan UHB and Honorary Senior Lecturer Sedation and Special Care Dentistry, University Dental Hospital and School, Cardiff
Steve Woolley divides his clinical time between the CDS, teaching, and general practice. He has treated patients in primary and secondary care for 21 years and is currently the clinical lead for sedation in ABUHB and a committee member of the Dental Sedation Teachers Group. He owns a bike and has never been in a sea-kayak.
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Supporting decision making for older people who use communication aids
– Pippa Johnson SLT & Mental Capacity Specialist Practitioner Cardiff & Vale
University Health Board
Pippa Johnson is a Speech & Language Therapist (SLT) working as a MentalCapacity Specialist Practitioner in CAV Safeguarding team. Prior to this her role was the Adult AAC Lead (Augmentative & Alternative Communication) for Cardiff &Vale.
Before working in Wales, she worked as the Motor Neuron Disease SLT for the East of England regional clinic and has also specialised in communication and swallowing disorders for people in acute settings and with Head & Neck Cancer. She is passionate about improving the healthcare experience of patients with
communication difficulties and increasing knowledge and confidence of the Mental Capacity Act.
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Endodontic Considerations for Older People
– Johnathan Hoare, Senior Clinical Lecturer/Honorary Consultant in
Endodontics. School of Dentistry, Cardiff University.
Johnathan Hoare was recently appointed as a senior lecturer / honorary consultant in endodontics at University Dental Hospital, Cardiff teaching on the postgraduate endodontic programme. Before this he was part of the restorative team, for over 20 years at the Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, Sheffield, involved in the endodontic management of a diverse cohort of patients. He is passionate about all thingsendodontic, especially teaching so others can develop to their full potential and learnfrom his experiences/mistakes!
He’s an examiner for the Royal College of Edinburgh and a member of the specialist advisory board for Restorative Dentistry. He says he start his career trying to avoid anything to do with endodontics! If he’s not doing endo or talking about it, he enjoys distance running and sailing.