Meet our Staff Governors

Declan Hyland

I have been employed as a Consultant in general adult psychiatry in Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust since August 2016.  I work on a full time basis at Clock View Hospital, one of the Trust’s inpatient units, where I look after a caseload of 23 inpatients across two wards.  Having completed almost all of my six years of psychiatry training in Mersey Care, working at various inpatient and community sites across the Trust and in various subspecialties of psychiatry, I always knew I wanted a Consultant post in the trust.  Aside of my clinical role, I hold numerous roles with the Royal College of Psychiatrists and am the lead for undergraduate psychiatry with the Liverpool School of Medicine. 

Whilst I am passionate about medical education, recruitment to psychiatry and training, I am equally passionate about patient care and ensuring that Mersey Care provides high quality and safe care to all of those patients under its care.  I am fully committed to representing my medical staff colleagues in Mersey Care and ensuring their views are heard at Board level.  I relish the opportunity to be an elected governor on the Trust Board and to do justice to this privileged role I have been given.

First term: 1 October 2021 to 30 April 2024

Mark Chandley

My name is Dr Mark Chandley (Dr by virtue of gaining a PhD) I am a Senior Clinical Nurse based in the secure division. I was born in Anfield and I am very proud of my working class, industrial origins.

I began as a Nursing Assistant (interestingly I would never get a job in Mersey Care today as I was only a builder back then). I worked up completing a degree and PhD in 2007 at the Manchester Metropolitan. I have worked in secure services for almost forty years and I still enjoy myself. 

I work also lecturing on violence and aggression across the UK and amongst others I have taught 3000 bus drivers for Nottingham City Transport.

I was seriously ill in 2015 and similar to long COVID it left me ill for a while, Mersey Care usually treated me as I wish others to be treated, that low point in life was a high point in the NHS.

I will bring passion to this role. Most of Mersey Care is robust but occasionally the best of trusts fall short. I put myself up for governor to be a conduit between the members & public and the trust board. I want to help the little guy.

I know from experience that the view from the top is different to the view at the bottom and I want the board to know both views. Your views on the importance of the services we offer. The services we offer often aspire to be world class, but I have been around a long time and I am aware that a great service can get itself into trouble very quickly. I want to be an excellent, reliable and accessible representative.

First term 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2023

Nicola Gelling

I am committed to provide patient centred care and to ensure all services work together to give our patients the best care possible in the community. I am confident and passionate about patient care, and I will challenge, and I am happy to be challenged to ensure that as a trust we are delivering safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led services for our patients, service-users and staff.

I commenced my Nursing career as an Auxiliary Nurse in Broadgreen Hospital in 1992. I have worked within Sefton for 20 years where I started as a D Grade District Nurse. In 2013, I became a Community Matron which is a role that I thoroughly enjoy as I work with all members of the Multidisciplinary team regularly. I feel that I understand how it is to work at all grades within the Nursing service and the demands on each role within the team.

I regularly Mentor and Support Colleagues to assist with the development of their knowledge and skills. I enjoy Mentoring and teaching colleagues and staff as I feel it is important that we share our knowledge and skills to continuously provide the best possible care to patient and service users. As a Mentor I get a great deal of personal and professional pride in seeing colleagues and students develop professionally and feel supported in their roles. 

Patients are why we are here, and we should not lose focus of the need for High Quality Patient Centred Care and always ensuring their needs are met. As a Nurse within Merseycare it is important to me that all Patients, Service users and Staff are treated with dignity and respect at all times.

I am extremely honoured to have been voted by my peers to be a staff governor. I am passionate about Nursing and I feel that I have the experience and passion to represent my colleagues. I will endeavour to ensure that the staff’s views are represented by me in a constructive way. I hope to work in partnership with the board to voice the views of staff.

First term 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2023

Ann San

I am honest, unafraid to ask awkward questions and have the skills to scrutinise and objectively look at the meaningful work of the Mersey Care organisation.

I am employed as a Community Matron working within a community team in Liverpool. I have worked in acute hospital community settings. I am interested in the supporting of and development of key health services, sometimes challenging those decisions in the best interests of patients and staff involved. As a nurse it is a privilege to be involved in patients and their care and to always put patients at the centre of any decisions. I consider this to be the benchmark for any organisation that makes policy or strategic decisions for its patients or service users.

I hope to be able to bridge the gap between the board and its members by taking an active part in the governor role and have a greater understanding of the role of the governors and the executive

board. The qualities I could bring are the qualities I use in everyday life; honesty, listening, compassion, problem solving skills, and a can-do approach to obstacles. I firmly believe if you involve your workforce in discussions and conversation you can gain so much as an outstanding performing organisation. which strives to achieve for every patient “perfect care”.

Vacant

Election will be held autumn 2023

Sean Doherty

I care about my work community, and I have 23 years’ experience as a governor, and 2 as a local councillor. My experience of strategic decision making will be beneficial.

I am married and live in Maghull. I have worked in industry and the health service. My current role is as a Senior Pathways Advisor with Mersey Care Life Rooms, and I continue to work with Secure Division as a Health Care Assistant. I was previously representing staff as safety representative for the RCN in secure division, a position I took up because I always want to improve working conditions for both staff and service users. Outside of work I volunteer as an outreach worker helping homeless people in Liverpool and with a charity helping Afghan Refugees integrate into communities. My hobbies are travel, watching Everton and magnet fishing with my grandson.

I hope to gain a greater knowledge of how the Trust works and I hope to use my experience in governance, communication, and strategic planning to help the Trust on a journey of continued improvement for the benefit of all.

First term 1 May 2022 – 30 April 2025

Gie Peneche

Keeping our service safe – is the driving force for my aspirations of becoming a staff governor. For me, providing safe patient care is not only about evidence based practise but also about the interaction, experience and the psychological safety of both patients and staff. It is therefore my passion to promote ideas and views, representing fellow colleagues and promoting better staff experiences, which in turn will improve the patient’s experience of service.

As one of the Just and Learning Ambassadors I am already part of cultivating an open, just and transparent culture. If elected, I will draw upon these skills to represent staff views, challenge decisions and ensure that issues specific to services will be addressed. Through my experiences, I have amassed and have built resilience that makes me flexible, courageous and well-rounded individual. The challenges that I have personally experienced over physiotherapy career of 20 years, have taught me to find my voice and speak up when I needed to; make my own ethical decisions everyday no matter how much pressure is being placed on me and the lessons I have learnt from colleagues’ experiences. Their wisdom is the reason why I enjoy the opportunity to collaborate.

My personal experiences and attributes have led me to believe that I would be well suited to be a governor and all that it entails. Furthermore, it is just simply to make a difference at a place where everyone is welcomed, and I can only attain that with your support.

Second term 1 October 2021 to 30 April 2024

Vacant

Election will be held autumn 2023

Chris Boland

I have 14 years’ experience in Merseycare in Corporate Services and over the past year I have spent most of the year supporting Local Services at Hartley Hospital.

I came to Merseycare as a staff member after a long spell in the Service Users and Carers Forum, where I served on working parties and interview panels and shortlisted candidates.  I have a long history of campaigning on Equality and Human Rights issues in Mersey Care and served as an Assistant Equality Advisor within the Workplace team.  I organised Hate Crime workshops with the Anthony Walker Foundation and administered Unconscious Bias training.  I have brought those experiences to bear in Local Services, supporting both staff and service users. I also helped devise Level 2 suicide prevention training for staff.

I have a long record of public service in Mersey Care and the Civil Service, where I managed teams in the Tax Credit Office and worked as a National Insurance Inspector.  I have an in-depth knowledge of both Health and Welfare issues and experience of working alongside senior management in the Public Service.  I have highlighted Equality issues in Merseycare and have brought it to the attention of managers when work practices have fallen short of those policies and values.  I am able to master policies and briefing documents and highlight ways in which they might be improved.  Above all, I am committed to ensuring that both staff and service users are treated with dignity in the way they deserve.

First term 1 October 2021-30 April 2024

Malcolm Greenhouse

I work in Estates and Facilities as an Estates Project Officer and can be found in many Trust buildings during the course of my work. I have worked in the NHS for a total of 11 years over two periods and in my first period I was the Joint Union Committee health and safety lead. In between my NHS employment I was National Health and Safety Manager for a PFI provider’s maintenance provision. Further back in my past I have been both a quality auditor and an operational manager. These roles have taught me to drill down and look for the root cause of situations so that lessons can be learnt, and improvements made. I see this as a close synergy to the role of a governor.

I have also worked part time for 21 years as a Tutor for the Open University on their Master’s Degree in Business. Subject tutor on included Financial Management, People and Organisational Management, Statistics, Marketing and Operational Management. During this time many of my students were from an NHS background. Reading their work-based assignments has provided me with a good understanding of the problems faced in Health Care.

So if anyone has any issues they would like me to raise then please feel free to get in touch via my Mersey Care e-mail account and I will come back to you to discuss.

First term 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2025