Council of Governors

I have been a resident of Merton for the last 18 years and my family and I have benefited from the vital services offered by St George’s. I am passionate about the NHS service as I believe it plays a vital role in shaping the social fabric of our society. I have strong experience in industry, working with board members in companies to develop strategy and have also been a volunteer for over 20 years supporting local community members.

With my extensive experience in staff and patient engagement, quality improvement, and collaboration across healthcare systems, I feel that I am well placed to represent your views and advocate for meaningful changes.

As a divisional Patient Experience Facilitator and Quality Improvement Coach, I have worked to foster a culture of excellence and innovation, ensuring staff are supported to deliver exceptional patient care. My involvement in highly praised initiatives, such as the ‘New 5 Borough Haemoglobinopathy Service’ remobilisation, demonstrates my ability to drive impactful improvements that reduce waste, enhance sustainability, and improve patient safety and experience.

I believe that collaboration, accountability, and a patient-centred approach are vital for the trust to thrive. Together, we can build a stronger, more responsive healthcare system for all

Hann (Hannibal) Latuff – 01.02.2025 – 31.01.2027

I have lived in the Merton Constituency for over 20 years. From my first encounter with St George’s Hospital, when my daughter was born, to a more recent health incident I fortunately recovered from, my admiration for the institution has grown very strong. I became a member of the Trust many years ago always with a view to getting more involved at a later stage. With early retirement now on the horizon, I feel that this is the right time to put my 35 years of professional experience to use in overseeing the interest of the St George’s community to which I feel very grateful.

I am a qualified attorney with over 30 years in the private and public corporate sector. During this time, I have acquired first-hand knowledge of several topics that I believe would be beneficial in assisting the board of Governors.

I have been a volunteer at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital as well as with a charity working in collaboration with the St Thomas Hospital in London.

I am the Chair for Merton Seniors Forum, within my roles, I have carried out care home inspections on behalf of Merton and Sutton Council with Healthwatch.

I am very passionate about promoting Health and Wellbeing, which I have been able to do by being a member of several bodies within Merton CCG/HW and ICS.   Prior to the pandemic I started running a monthly group for parents and their children with Special Educational Needs. This has provided me with tools to better understand the needs children have and the interventions they need to improve their quality of life and education. I am also involved in befriending work with various groups and individuals; signposting mental health support and giving advice on housing/ welfare issues.

I am proud of Wandsworth’s health facilities including the outstanding hospitals and other services provided by the Trust – which were superb on the rare occasions when my family have needed them. However, this complex and dispersed organisation needs high governance standards, particularly to improve value for money and engagement with patients and Trust members.

A local resident for 25 years, I have experience of St George’s as both an inpatient and A&E attendee. My professional background is in communications and marketing having worked in the Civil Service for many years and at the RSPCA’s Head Office. I now have my own company specialising in press, public relations and Parliamentary Affairs. I was previously a Wandsworth Councillor for 16 years.

As a Wandsworth resident for 16 years, I am committed to the local community. I am an enthusiastic advocate of the NHS and have a great interest in the running of local health services, particularly St George’s. I am keen to support the Trust as it balances competing priorities whilst keeping the focus on high quality patient-centred care for all. I have worked on the NHS front line for 14 years as a Registered Dietitian, including 4 years at St George’s from 2012-2016, working in the specialist area of cancer and latterly critical care.  As a former elected Councillor of Wandsworth Borough Council from 2018-2022, I was a member of several committees including the Adult Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee where I helped monitor St George’s and other health services. As a registered carer for a member of my family with an acquired brain injury, I also have insight into a range of health care services at St George’s, so I know first-hand how important these are to the local area.

01.02.2024 – 31.01.2027

l have lived in Battersea since 1978 and over the past 30 years, my family and I have received the highest standard of healthcare provided by St. George’s Hospital.  We are grateful to the hardworking staff at St. George’s for the exceptional healthcare we have received.  Becoming a governor is my way of saying thank you.

I have a recent legal career as a solicitor with wide experience in Family, Housing and Immigration Law practise.

I am a passionate supporter of the NHS. My father worked for St George’s for many years before he died and my son is currently training to be a doctor, and I am very proud of them both. As a result, I have some insight into the challenges being faced by the service.

I have a Business degree and a Masters in Voluntary Sector Organisation and my last paid job was as Deputy Director of Amnesty International UK.

Since leaving my job to care for my three children I have undertaken a lot of voluntary work including director roles on the boards of three charities and I served as a governor at Glenbrook Primary school in Lambeth for many years, including terms as Chair and Vice Chair. I am proud to serve as a representative of my community in Wandsworth.

I have been a resident of Wandsworth for over 40 years and have held various positions of authority in the local community. Following a heart attack, I received great medical care from St George’s and would like to help other people by contributing my ideas and knowledge to improve their experience. I regularly work with UK and international charities including fundraising for the British Legion’s Poppy Appeal and Humanity First amongst others.

Ashok Bhat –01.02.2025 – 31.01.2027

I have lived in SW London for over 40 years. I, and members of my family, have been treated at St George’s on various occasions, for which I am very grateful. I have huge respect for the work the Trust does and value the chance to contribute something back.

Professionally I started my career as a biostatistician at St George’s, in the Medical School, where I worked for 10 years doing research before I moved into the global tech industry focusing on healthcare and life sciences. I have been on several boards and aware of the need to have good governance and to oversee the successful implementation of strategy and to monitor operational performance. In particular I am passionate about the patient experience and patient outcomes.

My whole career has been in healthcare related areas and understand what an incredibly vital role that St George’s plays in the local area and indeed more widely.

From my family’s and my own experience of in-patient and out-patient services I have formed a high opinion of St George’s Hospital.

As an 81 year old economist, I have long followed the old saying “Physician or fool by forty”. Therefore, I have taken a lively non-professional interest in health issues whilst following my career directing the London-based Economic Research Council and lecturing on public and corporate sector policy making as Professor at The University of British Columbia in Canada, in London’s Guildhall University and at Keio University in Tokyo.

I was born in St George’s Hospital when it was in Hyde Park. I was ‘re-born’ in St George’s Hospital in Tooting in January 2016 when my life was saved through 11 hours of risky and complicated brain stem surgery. Thanks to the skill and care of staff, I have emerged unscathed and healthier than before my operation. I have raised funds for St George’s through running and swimming and I also participated for two years in the patient group Voice . I am a barrister and academic at City Law School specialising in employment and public law.

Dympna Foran – 01.02.2024 – 31.01.2027

Having served as a nursing sister at St George’s from 1987 to 1997 and later resuming my career in 2015, currently as Cardiology Nurse Practitioner, my connection with the organisation spans several decades.

Throughout my professional journey, I have exemplified a steadfast commitment to the principles of transparency, accountability, and patient-centred care. With a background deeply rooted in nursing, I possess a comprehensive understanding of the challenges facing our healthcare system. I am eager to leverage this to contribute effectively to the governance process and drive positive change within St George’s.

My involvement in school governance since 2008, spanning four primary schools over the last 15 years, serving as Chair of Governors for three schools and as a designated National Leader of Governance from 2014 – 2019, has equipped me with an awareness of the critical role of effective governance plays in steering organisations towards excellence.

I am a Consultant Transplant & Dialysis Access Surgeon and was honoured to be appointed to the Trust in early 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with my first duties being to support the Trust’s response in dealing with this unprecedented situation.  I then helped to kickstart our transplantation programme within the pandemic, becoming the first adult London Unit to do so on site.  I am also an active member of the Trust’s Organ Donation Committee and I am the surgical representative to the London Kidney Network, helping to improve and develop renal care at our Trust within the collaborative framework of the city and beyond.   I am passionate about our staff feeling valued and heard and will be acting as a Freedom to Speak Up Champion at the Hospital.

1.2.2023 – 01.02.2026

I have worked at St George’s as an educationalist since 2014. In this role I collaborated closely with clinical teams to expand simulation-based team learning in the hospital and have worked to promote interprofessional and multidisciplinary training using both laboratory-based and in-situ clinical simulation.

During the Covid pandemic I co-designed major simulation-training interventions ‘at scale’ for large numbers of hospital staff being deployed to Covid wards and was an  intensive care ‘runner’ and ‘ward clerk’, setting up a Family Liaison Service for Covid patients and a training course in communication skills for recruits to the service.

Post Covid I have trained as a voluntary Trauma Risk Management practitioner (TRiM) for hospital staff. Outside of St George’s I have a long-standing engagement with the voluntary sector, and I am a part of a Rapid Response Team for rough sleepers in London.

Appointed Governor Healthwatch Merton

01.02.2018 to date 

After retiring from a long career in Consumer & Financial Services across several location in Europe and America, I have devoted my time and energy to voluntary roles in the health & social care sectors for the past 8 years. On top of my role as Governor in St George’s, I am currently the Chairman of Healthwatch Merton and a trustee and member of the executive team of Merton Mencap.

I have been a resident of Merton for the past 30 years and a carer of a daughter with learning disabilities

Healthwatch Wandsworth

01.02.2021 to date

I am an elected member of the Healthwatch Wandsworth Committee, having retired recently after a career in the NHS and Local Authority Children’s Services. My professional background is as a qualified Nurse and Health Visitor. I have also worked at a national level as a professional officer with the CPHVA, a professional body and trade union. This involved working with Government departments, statutory regulators and professional bodies, to develop policies and good practice standards for Health Visitors and Community Nurses. I have lived in Wandsworth for over 40 years and both myself and my family have used St Georges on many occasions, across a wide range of services, including midwifery, the emergency department, orthopaedics, orthodontics, skin cancer and the stroke unit.

St George’s University of London 01.09.2022 to date

I am the Hotung Chair of Molecular Immunology.  I also hold honorary Consultant appointments in Oral Medicine at King’s College London and in Infection and Immunity at St George’s.  I was Director of the Institute for Infection and Immunity from 2014-2024.

In 1983 I graduated in dentistry at Guy’s Hospital in 1983 and went onto gain my PhD in immunology. After a post-doctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California I  returned to King’s College London as a Wellcome Trust Advanced Fellow to establish my independent research group. Since 2003, I took up the Chair at St. George’s University of London in 2003. My research explores applications of plant biotechnology for prevention of global infectious diseases, particularly those affecting the poor in developing countries, including HIV, rabies, Chikungunya virus and now SARS-CoV-2

I have 38 years of experience as a midwife and have worked clinically at Epsom, St Helier, and St George’s Hospitals.

For the last 20 years, I have worked as a midwife academic at Kingston University and currently, I am an Associate Professor and the head of the Department for Midwifery.

Because of my clinical and academic roles, I have the necessary expertise to provide insights into maternity services, ensuring that the voice of users of the service and students is heard by the senior team at St George’s.

I am keen to use my experience and expertise in my role as an appointed Governor to the board.

Born and brought up in Merton, GESH has provided healthcare to my family and I continuously.

I have worked in the NHS many years and am honoured to be part of the family.

I am indebted to St Georges’ s for saving my life, and I feel privileged to be a governor for GESH alongside my role as a councillor of the London Borough of Merton.

I have done various voluntary roles as well as paid roles predominantly working with people from all backgrounds and the protected characteristics under the Equality Act.

I look forward to being involved in the journey of GESH reaching its true potential.