Our team
Portsmouth Healthwatch is all about local voices being able to influence the delivery and design of local services that they use.
Through a committed staff team and a dedicated group of volunteers, we:
- Provide people with information, advice and support about local health and social care services.
- Gather views and experiences of local people on the way services are delivered and provided.
- Influence local services based on the evidence that we gather and through our position on the Health and Wellbeing Board in the city.
- Work with other Healthwatch organisations to build a national picture of people’s views on health and social care services.
- Offer support and guidance to those people that wish to make a complaint about NHS care.
- Staff code of conduct
Siobhain started as the Project Manager in April and will be supporting and leading the team in its day-to-day and project activity. Working closely with the Healthwatch Board, commissioners, providers of services and the voluntary sector Siobhain’s aim is to help local people have their say in shaping and developing how health and social care services are provided in Portsmouth. Siobhain has 26 years’ experience of being a manager in the voluntary and not for profit sector, supporting people with long term conditions to influence service provision in their local area. Siobhain has continued to work in the patient engagement and self-management sector and is a keen believer in person-centred approaches to care.
Fergus is the Senior Advocate Coordinator at Healthwatch Portsmouth. He supports people using the NHS complaints procedure. This involves enabling people to express their complaint, get explanations about difficulties in their care, and have an outcome that will help to improve NHS services. Fergus is a Healthwatch member having lived in Portsmouth since coming down from Lincolnshire to the then Portsmouth Polytechnic. Fergus’s background is in social work, Nurse Education and training in Health and Social care and hopes to bring this together to be an advocate for people needing to make a complaint, had a bad experience, of using NHS services.
Marianna is the Senior Engagement Officer leading our feedback gathering activities to ensure people’s views and experiences are captured, listened to, and taken account of by health and care service decision makers in Portsmouth, three days a week. Marianna has extensive experience working in health and wellbeing roles, including the voluntary sector. She was awarded a PhD by the University of Portsmouth in 2021 for examining the relationship between perception of the environment and health and well-being in the elderly. In another role at the University of Portsmouth, Marianna facilitates collaboration between project partners to develop a digital stakeholder engagement platform on plastic recycling, reuse, and sustainable solutions. At Healthwatch Marianna is keen to work with stakeholders and the public to address health inequality in Portsmouth and improve health and wellbeing outcomes.
Fiona has recently joined us as our Digital Engagement Officer. Fiona’s role is to to engage with and inform our members and the public in real time by signposting to relevant services and keeping our social media communication channels open and active. Fiona will be creating opportunities to communicate and engage digitally with a wide range of communities, including those seldom heard or marginalised people in Portsmouth to help Healthwatch ensure people’s views and experiences are captured and listened to by decision makers in Portsmouth. Fiona’s background is from business analysis and most recently has been coordinating a parent carer forum. She will be working closely with other members of the Healthwatch Portsmouth team and has worked for over six years in the voluntary and non-profit sector.