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AAC West - Meet the Team

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Clinical Manager - Speech and Language Therapist

Vicky Styles

After gaining an interest in the field of AAC through her first community speech and language therapy post, Vicky joined the team at the Centre in 2003, taking over as clinical manager for the service in February 2017. Since joining the team she has refined her knowledge of AAC in relation to assessments for an adult population and remains passionate about the positive effects AAC can have on people’s lives.

Speech and Language Therapist

Emily Preston

Emily joined AAC WEST in January 2016 working across the service with both adults and children. Her previous experience includes working with children and young adults with learning and physical difficulties in both their home and education environments. She is particularly excited by the life changing impact the right AAC system can have on the lives of individuals, their families and those who support them.

Speech & Language Therapist

Shani Ackford

Shani qualified in 2008 and joined the AAC WEST team in June 2017.  Shani developed her interest in AAC through working with adults with neurological disorders and is now honing her skills working with both adults and children.  She is enjoying the opportunity to work with a range of people and seeing the impact that the right communication aid can have.

Speech and Language Therapist

Ruth Firth

Ruth has held a long standing interest in AAC, since qualifying in the 90s. After a few years working with children and adults as a community Speech and Language Therapist, she specialised in supporting children and young adults with social communication disorders, specific language impairment, learning disability and/or physical disabilities in a range of special school and college settings. She has used AAC widely across these different settings and has worked within Specialist Assessment Services since 2014. She continues to feel very passionate about AAC and the potential for it to give people a voice.  She really enjoys working as part of a multi-disciplinary team and across the whole age range again.

Occupational Therapist

Lisa Conroy

Lisa joined the AAC WEST team in June 2015 on a part time basis. Her role includes mounting and access assessments. Since qualifying in 1999 her clinical experience has included working in areas of learning disabilities/mental health, community rehabilitation and stroke.

Jennifer Sellers - Occupational Therapist

Occupational Therapist (Paediatric Lead)

Jennifer Sellers

Jen joined AAC WEST in September 2022. She has occupational therapy experience in mental health services, private practice (consultancy, occupational therapy supervision, autism and community integration) and paediatric inpatients (neuro acute and rehabilitation, oncology, trauma and orthopaedics, and osteogenesis imperfecta).

Jen is excited to be working in a specialist AAC service. She is passionate about supporting children to have their own voice and in finding creative solutions to accessing AAC.

Alice Wakefield - Occupational Therapist

Occupational Therapist

Alice Wakefield

Alice qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 2018 and joined AAC West in 2021. Her clinical experience has included working across the stroke pathway, from acute care to outpatients, and neurological rehabilitation. Alice enjoys working with patients of all ages and exploring how technology can improve people's lives.

Occupational Therapist

Emma Middleton

Emma qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 2006 as a mature student; following 10 years of working as a Community Education Tutor with families in Bristol. She has worked since then as an Independent Practitioner in Devon with adults with physical and neurological impairments, and autistic spectrum disorders. She joined the Specialist AAC Assessment team at the end of 2019. Her role is to enable patients to access their specialist communication devices. She enjoys being part of a team and working collaboratively to enable people to reach their potential.

Occupational Therapist

Helen Algar

Helen joined the AAC team in 2017. Her main role includes mounting and access assessments. Clinical experience since qualifying in 2013 includes; community roles within adult and children’s services, intermediate care, inpatient rehabilitation at a cottage hospital, and most recently working within a school for children with PMLD where she was also the specialist therapist for a specialist wheelchair service. 

Assistant Practitioner

Stephanie Ellis

Steph joined AAC WEST in 2015 as an Assistant Practitioner, her role is to assist the therapists in preparing equipment, computer programming and to attend client assessments. Steph also carries out client follow up appointments and offers training and on-going support to clients and their families. Her previous clinical experience includes, nursing neurology patients for 3 years, followed by caring for stroke patients in a palliative and acute setting for a further 3 years.

Assistant Practitioner

Jeanette Garrett

Netty joined the team in January 2015 as an Assistant Practitioner. Her background is technical and financial. She deals with the equipment side of the service, supporting the therapists with equipment management and queries. This is an exciting time to be with AAC WEST as the service and department are expanding.

Assisant Practitioner

Natasha Pearce

Natasha joined BCAS in March 2019 as an Assistant Practitioner. Her role is to see and support clients who use high tech communication aids, assisting in appointments with therapists and to carry out behind the scenes work by programming and preparing equipment and software.
Her background includes working alongside children with additional needs including physical, visual and speech impairments and is keen to transfer those skills to both adults and children across the service and developing new skills in AAC.

Memeber of Staff - Assistant Practitioner

Assistant Practitioner

Rebecca Stallard

Becca joined AAC West in October 2021 where she worked as an associate assistant practitioner. Her previous background is in early years where she worked with children with additional and complex needs. She now works as an assistant practitioner and as a medical maintenance technician. Her role as a medical maintenance technician is to support the therapists in our team and patients regarding technical queries, to carry out routine maintenance of the communication equipment and to carry out safety checks across the south-west region.

Her role as an assistant practitioner is to support clients in using communication aids and assisting the therapists in appointments. Behind the scenes Becca spends time programming and preparing equipment and software ready for the clients to use. 

Chloe Anderson

Assistant Practitioner and Medical Maintenance Technician

Chloe Anderson

Chlöe joined AAC WEST in January 2023 where she worked as an Associate Assistant Practitioner. She now works as an Assistant Practitioner and Medical Maintenance Technician, in the Plymouth based team. Her role as a medical maintenance technician is to support the therapists in the team, and patients regarding technical queries, to carry out routine maintenance of the communication equipment and to carry out safety checks across the south-west region. Her role as an Assistant Practitioner is to support patients who use high tech communication aids, assisting in appointments with therapists and to carry out behind the scenes work by programming and preparing equipment and software.

Her previous background is in Early Years, where she supported both children and adults with complex physical, medical and neurological needs. Through her career she has developed a passion for speech, language and communication, and is keen to utilise the skills she has within team at AAC WEST.

Claire Taylor - Assistant Practitioner

Assistant Practitioner

Claire Taylor

Claire joined AAC WEST in June 2021 as an Assistant Practitioner in the Plymouth based team. Her role is to support clients who use high tech communication aids, assisting in appointments with therapists and to carry out behind the scenes work by programming and preparing equipment and software.
Prior to this role, Claire worked for 6 years as an SLT assistant in an Adult Community Rehabilitation Team working with adults with acquired speech difficulties and is keen to utilise and develop these skills within the Specialist Communication Team at AAC WEST.

Technical Equipment Manager

Matthew Johns

Matt joined the NHS and AAC WEST in 2019 after 10 years working in the film industry as a technician, spending 6 of those years living and working in New Zealand.  

Office Manager

Simone Paisey

Simone has worked for the NHS Trust since 2004, working previously with both the Wheelchair & Special Seating Service and Prosthetics & Orthotics Service.
Simone joined the team in November 2016 as an Office Manager, and finds the role varied and rewarding. She enjoys working within such a close and supportive team and service.

Ewa Hanf

Waiting List Co-ordinator

Ewa Hanf

Ewa came to England from Poland 12 years ago, where she began working for the Interpreting Service helping Polish patients to communicate during their appointments. She then worked as a Receptionist for the BRI- Outpatients, before moving on to be a Clinic Co-ordinator.

Since February 2022 Ewa has been working at The AAC Service as part of the Admin Team as a Waiting List Co-Ordinator, where she works closely with the Clinical Lead to arrange appointments for patients. Ewa really enjoy's working for the team. 

Ewa feels AAC West is a friendly, caring place and she likes how we all work together to get the best possible outcome for the patient.

Feedback

My sincere and profound thanks for all your kindness through my assessment at Frenchay. You could not have been more welcoming, more understanding, more patient, more thorough, more (frighteningly!) competent or more perceptive in your findings.

Bariatric Surgery Team

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We have an experienced team at North Bristol NHS Trust dedicated to giving you the best care and achieving your weight and health goals.

We have been performing weight loss surgery since 2003 and have operated on more than 7,00 patients.

Surgeons

Head of Service
Mr Jim Hewes

Mr Alan Osborne

Mr James Hopkins

Mr Dimitrios Pournaras 

Endocrine and weight loss physician
Dr Hassan Kahal

Bariatric Specialist Nurse
Faye Taylor

Dietician
Jen Dacombe

Psychologist
Jess Munafo

Lead Anaesthetist
Dr Jill Homewood

Radiographer
Daniel Sharp

Bariatric Co-ordinator
Pauline Clifford
Maddie Manning
Telephone: 0117 414 0855/ 0117 414 0854

Waiting List Co-ordinator
Joanna Ornoch
Telephone: 0117 414 8826

Pharmacist
Danielle Wig

Related links

Bariatric Surgery Frequently Asked Questions

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How do I know that I will be suitable for surgery?

Selection for surgery depends on your weight and height, the presence of other health or psychological problems, your age and readiness to go ahead with surgery. The final decision rests with the team but we will do our best to help anyone that we think will benefit from surgery

How long does it take from being referred by my GP to having the operation?

This very much depends on how your assessments go with our team. Some patients have significant problems that need to be dealt with first before we can go ahead with surgery. This may take repeat visits to us over a number of months as well as other investigations (such as into sleep disorders).

How much weight can I expect to lose, and how quickly?

The amount of weight lost after surgery depends on the type of operation, but more importantly on changing your lifestyle and eating habits. Weight loss requires reducing your food intake and increasing exercise. If you don’t stick to this then you will not lose enough weight and may even to put it back on again. It is important to be realistic about weight loss. The primary aim of weight loss surgery is to solve the problems caused by your obesity and not to get you to your ideal weight. If you lose more than 50% of your extra (excess) weight and it doesn’t come back on again this will be classed as a success. In general weight loss is faster after gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy surgery with most of the weight lost within the first 6 months and stabilising after 12-18 months. Gastric band surgery causes a slower more gradual but steady weight loss.

Will I have loose or sagging skin after I lose weight?

After significant weight loss there will inevitably be some areas where the skin starts to sag (around the tummy, under the arms and thighs, and breasts). How bad this is depends on how much weight you lose, your age and skin tone (generally younger patients have a better skin tone). How much this effects you is personal with some patients not being bothered by it, and others finding it very difficult to cope with. Occasionally the skin folds can become infected or sore if they are difficult to keep clean and dry. The only way to effectively deal with loose skin is with plastic surgery although this is not routinely funded within the NHS unless there are exceptional circumstances. You will need to discuss this with your GP if you feel that it becomes a major problem.

Are there any other side effects?

Some people notice that they lose some hair or that it becomes thinner after weight loss. This can be distressing, but it is only temporary and usually gets better after a few months. Many patients describe developing very dry skin when losing weight rapidly. You can combat this by drinking plenty of fluids, taking your multivitamin and applying a good moisturising cream daily.

How much time will I need off work?

This depends on your type of work, but generally gastric band patients have 1-2 weeks off work and the gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy patients have longer (up to 6 weeks)

How much weight can I expect to lose, and how quickly?

The National Bariatric Surgery Registry, 2010 reported that the average excess weight patients lost after 1 year was approximately 40% for gastric banding, 50% for sleeve gastrectomy and 70% for gastric bypass.  The amount of weight lost after surgery however varies greatly from person to person. Ultimately, it is down to the changes you make to your lifestyle and eating habits. Weight loss requires reducing your food intake and increasing exercise. If you don’t stick to this then you will not lose enough weight and may even to put it back on again.

It is important to be realistic about weight loss. The primary aim of bariatric surgery is to improve the problems caused by your obesity. If you lose more than half of your extra (excess) weight and it doesn’t come back on again this is regarded as a success. 

Most of the weight lost after bariatric surgery happens in the first 6 months, a bit more until about 18 months when most people put a bit back on again. This is entirely normal and as long as the weight levels out again there is nothing to worry about. 

Will I have loose or sagging skin after I lose weight?

After significant weight loss there will inevitably be some areas where the skin starts to sag (around the tummy, under the arms and thighs, and breasts). How bad this is depends on many factors including how much weight you lose, your age and skin tone (generally younger patients have a better skin tone). How much this effects you is personal with some patients not being bothered by it, and others finding it very difficult to cope with. Occasionally the skin folds can become infected or sore if they are difficult to keep clean and dry.

The only way to effectively deal with loose skin is with plastic surgery although this is not routinely funded within the NHS unless there are exceptional circumstances. You will need to discuss this with your GP if you feel that it becomes a major problem. 

What can I do about hair loss?

Some people notice that they lose some hair or that it becomes thinner after weight loss. This can be distressing, but it is only temporary and usually gets better after a few months. Many patients describe developing very dry skin when losing weight rapidly. You can combat this by drinking plenty of fluids, taking your multivitamin and mineral supplements and applying a good moisturising cream daily.

Do you require me to stop smoking before surgery? How will smoking affect my surgery and post-op time?

The purpose of bariatric surgery is to help improve your health, life expectancy and quality of life.  Smoking is the single most detrimental activity that you can do to affect your health and it’s the biggest cause of death and illness in the UK.  One in two smokers will die from smoking-related diseases such as cancers, heart attacks and strokes. 

Smoking increases your risks of complications during and after surgery.  It will increase your risks of chest infections, blood colts, wound healing, and premature death.  We strongly advise you to stop smoking before surgery.  We understand that this can be very difficult and you will need support.  There are many support organisations available that are able to point you in the right direction, and we are happy to work with you. 

You will not be considered for surgery if you continue to smoke and have not been involved in any stop smoking interventions. Smoke Free Bristol: 0117 922 2255

How long will I be in Surgery?

Operation times vary between 30minutes to 2 hours.  There is additional time putting you to sleep and waking you up.  Overall, you are away from the mediroom for 4-5 hours.

Will I be in ICU?

Only if you are considered a high risk patient.  There may be a small chance of being admitted to ICU if there were any complication during surgery.

Will I have a private room, or will I share with someone else?

Usually you will have a private room. However in some cases you may be asked to share in a 4 bedded bay.

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Meet our Board

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The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for governing and leading the organisation. Their main role is to guide the overall strategic direction of North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT).
The Board is made up of directors, including the Chief Executive, who are full-time senior staff, together with an Independent Non-Executive Chair and Non-Executive Directors who hold part-time positions.

NBT’s Chair, Chief Executive and Executive Directors are also the Chair, Chief Executive and Executive Directors of University Hospitals Bristol and Weston (UHBW) NHS Foundation Trust, holding joint roles across the two organisations.

Meet our Executive Directors and Group Non-Executive Directors.

The number of Non-Executive Directors and voting Executive Directors is set by North Bristol NHS Trust’s Establishment Order.

The Executive Directors bring expertise to key areas of the Trust and oversee the day-to-day operation of the organisation, while the Chair and Non-Executive Directors offer skills and experience from a wide variety of roles within the wider community. The Trust Chair has specific duties and responsibilities for the effective leadership of the Board, and creating the conditions necessary for overall board and individual director effectiveness. This includes the duty to lead effective governance at organisational level. 

Since we formed Bristol NHS Group, NBT's Board meets in common with the Board of UHBW, meaning that the Two Boards meet together at the same time and place, and have a shared agenda.

The Board's key functions are:

  • To set the vision and strategic direction for the Trust, define objectives, and agree plans for the Trust.
  • To monitor performance and ensure corrective action is taken where performance needs to be improved.
  • To ensure the Trust makes best use of the resources made available to us by the taxpayer.
  • To ensure high standards of corporate and quality governance so the services we provide are safe and of a high quality.

The key committees that feed into Board can be seen here.

More information about the Trust Board, its balance, completeness and appropriateness to the requirements of the trust is included within our Annual Reports and Standing Orders available elsewhere on the website.

A head and shoulders photo of Ingrid.

Group Chair

Ingrid Barker

A qualified social worker, Ingrid has over 25 years of NHS board level experience. This has included roles as Chair at Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, Joint Chair of Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust and ²gether NHS Foundation Trust and as a Non-Executive Director of NHS Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust. She is also an active Governor at the University of Gloucestershire.

Ingrid’s drive and commitment to the provision of high-quality services, accessible to all, is evidenced in her national policy and service redevelopment roles, notably leading on the transformation of mental health services community provision. She was also a Trustee and Board member of NHS Providers between 2013 and 2021, elected to represent Community Trusts across England. 

Ingrid started in her role as Group Chair on 1 June 2024.

A head and shoulders photo of Maria Kane

Group Chief Executive

Maria Kane OBE

Maria Kane OBE was appointed as Joint Chief Executive of North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust in July 2024. Prior to this she was Chief Executive of NBT from April 2021.

Maria previously worked as Chief Executive of North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust from 2017 until 2021, as Chief Executive of Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust between 2007 and 2017, and as Executive Director at North West London Strategic Health Authority between 2002 and 2006. Maria has held a variety of senior roles in corporate and strategic development for the Royal College of Midwives, Medical Protection Society and the National Council of Voluntary Organisations.

In 2019, Maria was made an OBE for services to health care leadership over two decades, particularly in North London. 

Maria is Chair of Bristol Health Partners, a member of the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, and sits on the board of Health Innovation West of England. She is also the South West representative for the NHS Genomics Board, and is the representative for the South West on the NHS Impact National Improvement Board.

Maria has previously been a trustee of Open Door, Umbrella Mental Health, and Young Minds, as well as an adviser to the Lullaby Trust and a special adviser to the Care Quality Commission. She was also chair of governors of a primary school for ten years.

A head and shoulders photo of Glyn Howells.

Hospital Managing Director, NBT

Glyn Howells

Glyn has significant Board and senior leadership experience in both the private and public sectors, with over 14 years NHS experience in both commissioning and provider organisations in addition to more than 10 years of Board level Director roles in the commercial world. His experience covers multiple portfolios including finance, estates, IMT projects and operations. He joined NBT in 2019 initially in the Finance function including being Chief Finance Officer since 2021. More recently, Glyn was appointed Interim Hospital Managing Director for NBT in September 2024 providing overall site-based leadership during the transition to Group, promoting a culture of collaboration across the organisation and wider health and social care system.

Organisational Structure

Visit the Organisational Structure page where you can find out further details about our five Clinical Divisions and six Corporate Directorates.

Dr Seema Srivastava - Care of the Elderly

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GMC Number: 4642370

Year of first qualification: 1999, MBBS University of London

Specialty: Medicine for Older People

Clinical interest: Fractures in Older People, Surgical Optimisation in Older People, Patient Safety, Quality improvement

Secretary: Michaela Perry

Telephone: 0117 414 9457

Seema is Associate Medical Director and Consultant in Medicine for Older People.
She has been a Consultant in Medicine for Older People at North Bristol NHS Trust for 11 years. In her clinical role, she delivers care in several services including complex care for older people, comprehensive geriatric assessment for older people with major trauma (Silver Trauma), front door emergency care sessions with the Complex Assessment and Liaison Service (CALS), and directly supervises several doctors in training.
She also leads the safety and quality improvement (QI) programme across the Trust which is building QI capacity and capability, improvements in clinical care and building our safety culture. Seema led the development of a combined ‘National Early Warning Score (NEWS) and Pain’ chart across the Trust, which helps the early identification of patients at risk of deterioration.
Seema also lead the development of a novel NEWS chart for Neurosciences, which helps detect deteriorating neurological health. More recently Seema developed and implemented the Learning from Deaths programme trust-wide.
Seema was awarded an MBE in the 2018 Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for her services to the NHS in Patient Safety.

Related links

Srivastava

Dr Kay Spooner - Anaesthetics

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GMC Number: 4304007

Year of first qualification: 1996, Barts, London

Specialty: Anaesthetics

Clinical interests: Medical Education

Secretary: Anaesthetic Secretaries

Telephone: 0117 414 5114

Dr Kay Spooner completed her anaesthetic training in the South West region and was appointed to a consultant post in South Wales in 2007, before moving to North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) in 2010.

She is currently the Foundation Year One Programme Director and Lead for the Trust Clinical Fellows; as well as being an educational supervisor and investigator of complaints for the anaesthetic department.
 

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Spooner

Dr Jasmeet Soar - Anaesthetics

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GMC Number: 3467499

Year of first qualification: 1990, Cambridge University

Specialty: Intensive Care Medicine and Anaesthetics

Clinical interest: : Care of the critically-ill and injured patient, resuscitation, cardiac arrest, and anaesthesia for urology and adrenal surgery

Telephone: 0117 414 5114

Dr Jasmeet Soar became a Consultant at North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) in 1999. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in 1994, a foundation Fellow of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine in 2011, and A Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 2013.

He works mainly in the Intensive Care Unit, and also anaesthetises for major urological and adrenal surgery, especially during robotically assisted operations.

He has an interest in patient safety, with the aim of ensuring patients receive the right care in a timely manner with outcomes they value.

Dr Jasmeet Soar also has a major research interest in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He was Chair of the Resuscitation Council (UK) from 2009 to 2012. He currently chairs the Advanced Life Support Working Group of the European Resuscitation Council, and the Advanced Life Support Task Force of  the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. He also edits the journal Resuscitation.

Related links

Soar

Dr Katarzyna (Kasia) Sieradzan - Neurology

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GMC Number: 4274436

Year of first qualification: 1984, Medical University, Warsaw, Poland

Specialty: Neurology

Clinical interests: Epilepsy and Epilepsy Surgery

Secretary: Katherine White and Amy Melillo

Telephone: 0117 4146686  or 0117 4148012

 

Dr Kasia Sieradzan is a Consultant Neurologist with a specialist interest in epilepsy and epilepsy surgery.

She is the Clinical Lead for Neurology and the Clinical Lead of the Bristol Adult Epilepsy Surgery Programme.

She is a member of the Association of British Neurologists, American Epilepsy Society and International League against Epilepsy Providing care in all aspects of general neurology and epileptology including epilepsy surgery assessment, videotelemetry and intracranial stereoEEG recordings.

She is involved in transitional work with the Paediatric Epilepsy Surgery Programme in Bristol.

Related links

Sieradzan
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