Meet Your Governors

If you would like to contact any of our Governors, please use the link below and start your message 'message for Governor Name'

cdda-tr.Foundation@nhs.net

Occasionally, Governors may seek views of members on specific issues and details of these can be found on the 'related publications' links on this page.

Public Governors

The Public Governors represent the geographic area covered by the Trust and this is split into nine constituencies:

Chester-le-Street - Stephen Hann (New Governor)

Chester-le-Street - Dr Lakkur Murthy

Darlington - Liz Sanderson

Liz is a retired nurse having qualified whilst serving with the Queen Alexander's Royal Army Nursing Corps. After leaving the forces Liz continued in nursing, predominantly in an accident and emergency setting until she left to raise her two children. She later returned to nursing and worked in many different aspects until her retirement.

Since retirement, Liz has worked as a volunteer with several agencies including MIND and Age UK as well as the NHS.

Liz previously served as a governor with the Trust prior to moving from the area in 2016. On her return she is happy and looking forward to being able to serve again.

Darlington - Stephen Twist (New Governor)

Darlington - Kath Fawcett

Kath retired in March 2017, after working in the NHS since September 1966 almost continuously apart from breaks to have her two daughters.  She has a 10 year old Grandson who lives in the West Midlands and another Grandchild on the way.  Kath enjoys spending time with her family, walking the dog - Max, and trying to keep her garden under control.

The majority of Kath's career was spent in the area of Elderly Care at DMH which she thoroughly enjoyed as she feels there is something very special about caring for our older generation.

Derwentside - currently vacant

Derwentside - Katy Flynn - new governor

Derwentside - currently vacant

Durham City - currently vacant

Durham City - Stuart Green

Stuart lives and works in Durham City. He has a professional background in accounting, with specialist experience in taxation, assurance and financial management. In addition he is also an examiner for professional bodies in both accounting and banking.

Stuart has a keen interest in governance and serves in governance roles for several organisations, including Durham Constabulary and the North East Joint Transport Committee.

Durham City - David Jackson

Easington - Chris Boyd

Chris is a retired Science Teacher who taught for over 32 years.  He holds a 1st Class Honours degree in Physics with Electronics (Liverpool University) and a PGCE Teaching Certificate.  In his early twenties he served as a local parish councillor.  Chris was a member of the National Union of Teachers and served as a Teacher's School Governor and Health and Safety representative.

As a frequent user of NHS Services because of several lifelong chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and psoriatic arthritis, Chris would like to give back a little for the excellent servce and treatments received.  Suffering a stroke over two years ago, he received treatment from a team of dedicated professionals and this led him to consider contributing to improving the effectiveness of local NHS services in some way, as he feels it can often look confusing and complex.  He has taken part in an active drug trial for a new psoriasis treatment and has also helped in the training of medical students at James Cook University Hospital.

Chris and his wife have three adult children and presently one grandchild.  Since the NHS has been vital to the health and wellbeing of all of his family, Chris is keen to support it in whatever way he can.

Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland - Lord Ajibola Odu

Lord Odu was born to Nigerian parents and attended both private and public schools. He studied law in University and Law School in Nigeria, graduating to become a solicitor and Barrister of the Law. He went on to work in the office of the Executive Governor of Lagos State in the office for the Commissioner for Special Duties. He also worked in private legal practice and then joined the banking industry. He worked in banks such as Diamond Bank (now Access Bank), Guarantee Trust Bank (GT Bank) and United Bank for Africa (otherwise known as UBA). He worked extensively in Risk Management, Credit Risk Management, Enterprise Risk Management and Credit Control. He worked in Santander on various projects. He attended the Durham Business School and was awarded an MBA in Economics, Management and Leadership from the University of Durham. He is also a certified GDPR Practitioner.

In addition Lord Odu is a Deacon of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and also volunteers on weekends helping to coordinate the distribution of food aid to the less privileged in the Durham, Sunderland, Stockton and Middlesbrough areas. Lord Odu currently serves as the Financial Secretary for the Nigerian Committee on Tees (NICOT). Though not a member of the House of Lords, Lord Odu was awarded the title of Lord in 2020.

Hambleton, Richmondshire and Tees Valley - Frank White

Frank has been a resident of Darlington and District for the last 45 years and retired in 2014 after working for 48 years in the voluntary (NSPCC) and Local Government (Social Care and Managerial positions) sectors. During his career Frank was involved with child protection services, children with disabilities and those with life threatening illnesses as well as mental health in both adults and paediatrics in the community and acute environments. Frank worked with a range of multi-disciplinary teams through this time including social workers, doctors, psychiatrists, ward staff, the police and legal professionals. In addition Frank undertook other duties which included the chairing of conferences, managing performance, the preparation and liaison of children services inspections and undertaking audits and complaints handling.

After retirement, Frank continued to support the services in which he had worked by taking part in regulatory inspections of children's homes. He also became a Trustee and Director of Healthwatch Darlington for a time, with a remit which included policies, budgeting and staffing issues. This role also included attendance at multi-agency meetings and liaison meetings with the North East Ambulance Service.

Before becoming a governor with the Trust, Frank joined the membership and also volunteered, even taking part in PLACE based inspections of our hospitals.

Sedgefield - Currently Vacant

Sedgefield - Cameron Gordon (New Governor)

Sedgefield - David Taylor

David is an accomplished, time served finance and administrative professional with the experience of systems in both industry and commerce of both large and complex organisations and also small to medium sized companies.  Though now spending more time keeping fit and fully aware of local and national financial and political events, along with health care developments regionally.  Originally from Yorkshire, David has lived locally now for over 30 years.

Wear Valley and Teesdale - Marilyn Weerasinghe

Marilyn was born and bred in Bishop Auckland and originally trained to be a Primary School Teacher. After a few years however she decided on a change of career and retrained as a Social Worker, working first with the Durham Dioscesan Family Welfare Council and then, after completing her Certificate of Qualification in Social Work, with the local authority in Crook and later in Bishop Auckland. Following the birth of her daughter, Marilyn made a return to teaching and worked until retirement as a teacher with a focus on Special Educational Needs.

Following her mother's stroke, Marilyn's passion for improving health care services was ignited. She became a member of the Patient and Public Involvement Forum and represented patient views both regionally and nationally on stroke, paediatric, surgical and stem cell research services.

Marilyn volunteers at Durham Cathedral and with the Auckland project and was recently the North East's winner of the Marsh Award for Museum Learning, specifically for working with young people in hard to reach communities.

While there are ever increasing demands on the NHS and health services, Marilyn believes that the best outcomes for patients and communities can continue to be achieved and looks forward to working together with the Council and the Trust to contribute to this.

Wear Valley and Teesdale - James Porter (New Governor)

Wear Valley and Teesdale - Professor Yitka Graham

Yitka is the Head of the Helen McArdle Nursing and Care Research Institute at the University of Sunderland. She is married with a daughter and has lived in Bishop Auckland for 18 years.

Yitka has a strong and sustained background in applied health research which focuses on health services research, for example illuminating patient experiences of healthcare provision and workforce issues surrounding the organisation and delivery of health and care services. Her work has been published widely, influencing national policy and practice, positively impacting patient care and supporting the NHS and care workforces.

She believes in empowering people to have the confidence to take control of their own health and be active partners in healthcare, ensuring that marginalised and underrepresented populations are represented. Yitka strives to ensure that wellbeing of the health and care workforce is taken into account as we continue to live with Covid-19.

Yitka is a Trustee for the National Council of Women and was a governor of New College Durham from 2010-2015. She has a BSc in Public and Community Health, a PhD in patient experience and Fellowship of the Chartered Management Institute.

Staff Governors

Staff Governors represent the staff group they belong to:

Admin, Clerical and Managers - Shaun Gooch

AHPs, Professional & Technical and Pharmacists - Peter O'Hara (New Governor)

Ancillary - currently vacant

Community based - Steven Curry (New Governor)

Community based - Kevin Morley

Kevin has worked within the Trust for 26 years and has been a member of the Multi-Professional Community team since completing his Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care at Teesside University in 2015. Prior to this he worked in a variety of settings in the Trust including Elderly Care wards, Children's wards and a School Health Community team.  Kevin has a passion for delivering quality and patient centred care and a drive for making a difference to the experience of the patient.

Looking forward to being a part of the Council, Kevin sees this as an opportunity to contribute to the Trust's delivery of the right care at the right time through the work of the Council and holding the Non-Executives to account.

Medical - Professor Anjan Dhar

Professor Dhar is a Professor of Medicine at Teesside University and Consultant Gastroenterologist at Darlington Memorial Hospital and Bishop Auckland Hospitals in County Durham.

He has been a Consultant with the Trust since 2003 and in addition to his clinical role he is involved with a number of leadership roles such as Clinical Lead for Upper GI Cancers and the educational and training lead for Gastroenterology to Health Education England North East. In addition he has leadership roles in the British Society of Gastroenterology and Royal College of Physicians.

Professor Dhar graduated from the University of Delhi with a Presidential Gold Medal and then completed his Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology training at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He came to the UK as a Commonwealth Research Fellow to work with Professor Derek Jewell at Oxford University. Professor Dhar's Gastroenterology training in the UK was at the University of Oxford and the University College London Hospitals. He was appointed as a Consultant in CDDFT in 2003 and Professor of Medicine at Teesside University in 2019.

A National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Clinician Investigator, Professor Dhar is involved in several national and international clinical trials at County Durham. He holds a tenured Chair in Medicine at the School of Health and Life Sciences at Teesside University for education and clinical research and has previously been a faculty member of the School of Medicine and Health at Durham University.

Throughout his career Professor Dhar has been the recipient of many prestigious awards such as the British Society of Gastroenterology, Endoscopy and Advanced Endoscopy travelling fellowship. He has over 80 publications in peer reviewed journals.

Professor Dhar has a keen interest in the welfare of all medical staff in the organisation, with a special interest in equality and diversity.

Nursing and Midwifery - Currently Vacant

Nursing and Midwifery - Susan Evison (New Governor)

Nursing and Midwifery - Sara Gee

Appointed Governors

We also have a number of Governors nominated by our stakeholder organisations.  Appointed Governors and the organisations they represent are as follows:

Healthwatch Durham

Chris Cunnington Shore

Chris is Chair of the Board of Healthwatch County Durham having taken over from Brian Jackson.

He has a broad managerial experience with a background in both the NHS and Civil Service.  Upon his retirement, he has become more involved in a number of voluntary roles supporting the local health and social care agenda.

Healthwatch Darlington (shared post)

Dr Robert Upshall

A southerner originally, hailing from Bournemouth, Robert graduated as a doctor from University College Hospital in London in 1976.  After hospital jobs and GP training posts in Surrey and Hampshire, Robert arrived to join one of the practices operating out of Parkgate Health Centre in 1981.  The practice moved gradually to the Whinfield site from the following year eventually moving out of the Health Centre completely.  Robert continued in that practice as a partner, eventually senior partner, until 2011.  In addition to being a full time GP, Robert did consultancy work for Cleveland Bridge, for a number of years.  He also worked in the Psychiatry department at Darlington Memorial Hospital as a clinical assistant with a special interest in the Elderly Mentally Infirm for a number of years.  Robert worked as an emergency doctor with Healthcall Ltd from 1981 until 2003.  From 2003 until 2010, he worked with Durham Constabulary as a Forensic Medical Examiner (colloquially known as a police surgeon though one is neither police nor a surgeon!)  Robert was a member, latterly vice-chair, of County Durham and Darlington Local Medical Committee representing Darlington GPs from the 1980s until he retired.

Robert has two adult children - a daughter who is trained as an artist, teacher and psychologist who works for a homeless charity as a Health and Wellbeing Manager, and a son who is a musician performing in a local band and works for Darlington company EE.  Since retirement, Robert and his wife like to travel, spending time in his wife's home country, the USA, and for the last few years, he has been involved with Healthwatch Darlington Ltd, a registered charity, currently the Chair as well as being one of their directors and trustees.  Robert maintains a strong interest in healthcare issues and is passionately concerned that locally it should be of the highest quality, available to all equitably and sensitive to the needs of the local population and that providers should be able to explain and justify their decisions to their patients both on an individual basis and to the population as a whole.  Robert was appointed to the Council of Governors by Healthwatch Darlington, and jointly with Brian Jackson, he takes turns to attend Council meetings representing both Healthwatch Darlington and Healthwatch Durham.

Valerie Johnston

Valerie is a retired Civil Servant with wide-ranging experience in the Departments of Employment; Education and Skills; Children, Schools and Families, latterly Education (DfE) and ACAS.  She has long experience in operational management roles with teams ranging in size from 7 to 45 staff; experience in Human Resource Management, Training and Development, Contract Management, Procurement, Buildings Management and outward facing / representational roles.

Valerie has served as a Trustee for several organisations in the Voluntary and Community sector including Age UK (previously Age Concern), the Women Matter Bursary, and Tees Valley Rural Action, over a period of 25 years.  She is an experienced school governor, currently a Director of Firthmoor Primary School, and a Governor of Corporation Road Community Primary School, both in Darlington.  Valerie's qualifications include; CIPD Certificate in Training, NCFE Certificate in Counselling Skills, ITD Diploma in Training Management, IPM Diploma in Personnel Management, MA Strategic Human Resource Management, ISO 9001/2 Lead Assessor.

Darlington Borough Council - Lorraine Tostevin

Durham County Council - Chris Hood - New Governor

North East Ambulance Service - currently vacant

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust - Jennifer Illingworth

Local Universities - Dr Ann French

Dr Ann French is an Associate Dean for Marketing and Recruitment at Teesside University.

Ann qualified as a Registered General Nurse in 1988, and since then she has worked in a variety of clinical areas, but her expertise is in palliative and end of life care.  Ann worked at Teesside Hospice when it first opened in 1994 as the sister of the inpatient unit. After several years she became a community Macmillan Nurse before moving into education at Teesside University in 2006. Ann gained her PhD in Palliative Care at the International Observatory in End-of-Life Care at Lancaster University, her research focused on how people cope when they are dying.

Ann's role at the university now involves the recruitment of students into courses within the School of Health & Life Science.