Helen Hughes
Chief Executive, Patient Safety Learning
Helen is Chief Executive of Patient Safety Learning, a charity and independent voice for system wide change. It promotes patient safety and the reduction of avoidable harm through: policy, influencing and campaigning; developing and promoting ‘how to’ resources including shared learning, the hub is our free shared learning platform for patient safety and organisational standards for patient safety using the evidence-based foundations in A Blueprint for Action.
Helen's passion for improved patient safety is informed by personal family insight into the impact of unsafe care and the ineffectiveness of organisational responses to learning and taking action to reduce avoidable harm. Helen is an experienced leader in organisational effectiveness and transformational change. She has held Executive leadership roles in healthcare in the UK and the WHO, the National Patient Safety Agency, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Parliamentary Health Services Ombudsman and the Charity Commission. Helen has extensive experience as Chair and Trustee in social justice and health care delivery charities.
Steph Lawrence MBE
Chief Executive, QNI
Steph has been a nurse for more than 38 years with the last 25 years spent working in the community. She is both an adult and children trained general nurse as well as being a very proud District Nurse. She was until her retirement from the NHS at the end of August 2024 the Chief Nurse at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust. She also spent 3 years working at the CQC as the National Professional Adviser for Community Services.
She led the national trailblazer group for the District Nurse Apprenticeship standard which is now being delivered in many English universities.
She also co-chaired the Clinical Reference Group for the National Community Nursing plan for several years.
She was recognised in the Queens 2022 Jubilee Birthday Honours and received an MBE for services to District Nursing.
She has recently been appointed as the new CEO at the Queens Institute for Community Nursing and started in post on 1/7/2025. As a Queens Nurse and Fellow of the QNI this is a great opportunity to continue to shape community nursing and ensure the community nursing voice is heard at all levels.
Rahul Chodhari
Associate Director, Medical Innovation,
NHS England
Rahul is an experienced clinician and manager working in the hospital and healthcare industry. He is skilled in epidemiology, emergency medicine, healthcare management, hospital mergers, health technology clinical risk management, clinician/population engagement and healthcare consulting. He has wide experience of running multisite children services, mergers & building/relocating hospital sites.
In his role as Associate Director for Medical Innovation within the New Hospital Programme, Rahul provides medical leadership, engages with medical royal colleges and professional bodies, and champions sustainable innovation in hospital design. His work has included securing seed funding to promote local innovation, leading engagement with over 100 clinical organisations, and coordinating expert workshops to shape clinical briefs for emergency care, maternity, neonatal services and radiology. Rahul also serves as Medical Productivity Director at NHS England, is a Consultant Paediatrician at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, and holds academic and research fellowships in genetics and immunology.
Dr Stefan Cantore
Associate, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Senior Leader Apprenticeship
Stefan’s career history is a rich combination of extensive practice in senior healthcare leadership, systems improvement, organisational development, university teaching and research.
After joining the NHS as a graduate trainee Stefan worked as a board-level Director in a variety of healthcare organisations including time spent as a CEO. Prior to leaving the NHS he took up a leadership role focussed on service improvement and workforce development across a complex health, social and voluntary care system.
Subsequently, Stefan joined a public-sector facing consulting practice where he specialised in clinical leadership development, service improvement and hosting processes to support conversations across organisations and systems. He has since taught organisational and system development at the Universities of Southampton, Sheffield and Manchester.
His experiences sparked a research interest in the role of conversation in system development and change. He has published books and articles in this field and is a regular presenter at academic and practitioner conferences.
Charlotte Quartey
Charlotte Quartey is a Registered General Nurse with over 20 years’ experience in the care sector. She has held senior leadership roles including Director of Operations and Regional Operations Manager, where she drove growth, acquisitions, and new home openings.
Skilled in regulatory compliance, workforce development and advancing nursing excellence, Charlotte combines strong financial acumen with a deep commitment to relationship-centred care. At MACC Care, she leads all new homes from opening through to maturity, ensuring each is established with the right expertise, culture, and passion for outstanding care.
Jackie Pool
Jackie Pool is a retired Occupational Therapist but still active as aspecialist in dementia care as a campaigner for the disability rights of people living with dementia. She continues to be a co-investigator with the University of Exeter, Research into Ageing and Cognitive Health (REACH) programme into the effectiveness of Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy. Jackie is the developer of the reliable and valid PAL Instrument, author of the book “From Dementia to Rementia”and, a speaker at international dementia conferences.