Dr Steve Beyer
Deputy Director,
Welsh Centre for Learning Disabilities www.cardiff.ac.uk
Stephen Beyer graduated with a PhD from Bristol University,
and after a period in social services research in Bristol,
Stephen joined the Welsh Centre in 1985. He has been associated
since then with research and development in the context of
supported employment, local authority day centres and in other
forms day provision for people with learning disabilities.
His research interests include the factors which determine
quality in supported employment and day activity programmes,
approaches to employment for people with multiple disabilities,
socialisation in the workplace, transition from school to
employment, and self-determination in career choices for people
with learning disabilities. His methodological interests include
cost:benefit and cost:effectiveness analysis, and behavioural
observation. He is Course Convenor of the WCLD's Diploma in
Supported Employment.
Professor Mike
Kerr
Welsh Centre for Learning Disabilities www.cardiff.ac.uk
Mike Kerr qualified at Bristol University. He trained in General
Practice in Yorkshire before completing his psychiatric training
in Cardiff. Mike took up his current post in August 2003. He
has research interests in the health of people with learning
disabilities, epilepsy and the quality of primary medical care.
Mike has investigated the impact of pro-active health checks
conducted within primary care and the efficacy of the prescription
and withdrawal of medication. He is currently Chair of the Health
Issues Special Interest Research Group of the International
Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability.
In addition to his academic post he provides a specialist service
for patients with epilepsy and learning disability for Bro Morgannwg
NHS Trust and as an honorary consultant to the Neuropsychiatric
Service of the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust.
HEALTH
Dr Helen Matthews
Royal College of Psychiatrists, Welsh branch www.rcpsych.ac.uk
Helen represents
the Royal College of the Psychiatrists on the advisory group.
She works as a psychiatrist in West Wales.
Helen trained as
a doctor in Cardiff. During her early days as a doctor she
particularly concentrated on training in complicated illnesses
and problems which resulted in physical disabilities, this
included working in the National Spinal Injuries Unit, Stoke
Mandeville. She became more and more interested in trying
to help people more fully or holistically rather than a list
of physical problems. She went to study psychiatry in London
and stayed. Her initial training was in North London (Royal
Free Hospital rotation). She then moved to St George's Hospital
Medical School in South London eventually becoming a senior
lecturer and Consultant Psychiatrist. St George's championed
the development of the meeting of people with learning disability
/ mental health needs within the community. Helen worked for
over 10 years with Professor Sheila Hollins who has championed
the development of psychological therapies for people with
learning disabilities.
Helen's particular
interests are trying to better understand, recognise and help
the ways emotional and psychiatric problems impact on the
lives of people with learning disabilities. She is currently
involved in a number of projects to improve the way all doctors,
but particularly psychiatrists, are trained to meet the needs
of people with learning disabilities.
Chris Griffiths
Welsh Therapy Advisory Committee
Judith Thomlinson National Patient Safety Agency
Ian Ferris
Head of Nursing Learning Disabilites Directorate
Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust www.bromor-tr.wales.nhs.uk Ian.Ferris@bromor-tr.wales.nhs.uk
Ian has been involved
in Learning Disability services since 1972, within residential
and community based services. He has worked within the statutory
and not for profit sector and undertaken a number of clinical
and managerial roles during his career. He is now the Head of
Nursing for people with Learning Disabilities in the Bro Morgannwg
NHS Trust. Within the last four years Ian has been involved
in planning the successful closures and reprovision of services
for Ely and Hensol hospitals.Ian has a particular interest in
organisational behaviour and the management of change with a
specific interest in effective policy development .This has
included involvement in the development of policy frameworks
on a national basis including representation on a number of
Welsh Assembly Government and Department of Health Working Groups
which include the Crown Committee on the Review of the Medicines
Act, and the In Safe Hands Welsh Assembly Government Steering
Group for Vulnerable Adults. Ian has been a member of a number
of voluntary committees for housing and service provision in
his spare time and is currently a board member of Advocacy Matters
in Cardiff
Dr
Sean O'Reilly
Royal College of General Practitioners www.wales.nhs.uk I am
a full time GP working in Talgarth Powys. My interest in learning
disability began working in the longstay learning disability
unit in Powys before it was closed and was further developed
when my eldest son was born with Down's syndrome. I feel I can
bring a practical approach to the table in the development of
primary and secondary health care for people with learning disability
and join in the debate generally on other issues.
Professor
Dave Allen
Special Projects Team
Bro Morganwg NHS Trust www.bromor-tr.wales.nhs.uk David is a clinical
psychologist with Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust. His first experience
of working in services for people with learning disability was
at Ely Hospital, Cardiff in 1976. With the exception of three
years spent in clinical training, he has been involved in this
area ever since. He subsequently worked within one of the first
community support teams to be established under the All Wales
Strategy, and as part of the original resettlement team at Ely.
In his current post, he is Head of Specialist Services for the
Learning Disabilities Directorate in Bro Morgannwg; in this
role, he is responsible for managing the Directorate's specialist
community behavioural teams, acute admission units and continuing
healthcare residential services for people with learning disability
and complex behavioural/mental health needs. He also heads up
the Special Projects Team, a ten-year initiative to improve
local services for people with challenging behaviour, and is
External Professor at the Unit for Development in Intellectual
Disability at the Unit for Development in Intellectual Disability
at the University of Glamorgan. David is a Fellow of the British
Psychological Society and of the International Association for
the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities.
John
Williams
Welsh Applied Psychologists in Healthcare Specialist Advisory
Group
john.williams@pdt-tr.wales.nhs.uk
John is a clinical psychologist and is the head of psychology
services for people with learning disability in the Pembrokeshire
and Derwen NHS Trust. John spent 3 years in London getting
his psychology degree, but has spent the rest of his working
life in Wales. He is so old that his first job in Wales was
before the All Wales Strategy, working as part of a team trying
to evaluate an early resettlement programme involving various
South Wales hospitals. For most of the All Wales Strategy
years, John worked in Swansea. He was involved in developing
services for people with severe and profound learning disabilities,
community based day opportunities, employment services and
a county-wide individual needs based planning system. John
now works in South West Wales. His current work is focussed
primarily upon meeting the needs of people who challenge services,
particularly those with learning disability and autism spectrum
disorder
Caroline has worked for the past 20
years in North Wales in learning disability psychology services
in both NHS and University settings. She currently chairs
the North Wales Health Trusts Learning Disabilities Network,
which is a representative group of health professionals (senior
clinicians and managers) from across North Wales, who meet
regularly to consider health care issues as they affect people
with learning disabilities living in North Wales. The purpose
of the Network is to promote quality, consistency, equity
and fairness in providing comprehensive health services to
people living in North Wales who have learning disabilities.
Her research interests have included media representations
of people with learning disabilities.
Dr Peter Woods Consultant Clinical Psychologist Associate Clinical Director is head of the Learning Disability and the Psychology Services in the North West Wales NHS Trust.
He has worked with people with Learning Disabilities for over 35 years and was a member of the Welsh Office Working Party that produced the 1983 All Wales Strategy. Over the years he has been a research psychologist, and as a clinical; psychologist has worked in all parts of North Wales. As a Manchester City supporter, life has taught him to be patient and to tolerate frustration.
