NHS representative - Jean-Pierre Moser
Jean-Pierre is Director of Communications at St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, one of the country's largest teaching hospitals treating more than 500,000 patients every year at three sites across South West London. St George's has an established reputation for providing specialist care in neurology, cardiac care, stroke and cancer. The Trust also provides accident and emergency, maternity services and care for older people and children.
Jean-Pierre has over 12 years experience of working in healthcare communications having previously held positions as Head of Corporate Communications and Membership at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and PR Manager for St Mary's Hospital, London.
PR Agency representative – Justin Wilkes
Justin has been a Director of Spink for the past 18 years, specialising in PR and marketing campaigns for the pharmaceutical, health and lifestyle sectors. Spink predominantly works with pharmaceutical companies and healthcare service providers, offering strategic and creative marketing consultancy and PR campaigns targeted at healthcare professionals and the consumer or patient.
Justin and his agency aim to encourage healthcare marketers to be more adventurous and dynamic with their brands and campaigns and ensure that PR is one of the primary marketing tools in the health and medical arena.
In-house representative – Michael Smeethe
Michael has recently been appointed Director of Healthcare at GE after spending 5 years as a freelance consulant working on NHS and Department of Health contracts..
Prior to going freelance Michael was Head of Healthcare for Fleishman Hillard UK and Managing Director of Good Relations Healthcare. Before becoming a consultant Michael was Director of Communications for a London based NHS Trust and the National Officer responsible for media and campaigns for one of the largest trade unions in the UK.
Michael has a degree in chemistry from the University of Nottingham and a Post Graduate diploma in Public Relations from the CIPR. He is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts..
Medical Research representative – Adrian Penrose
Adrian Penrose was appointed as the first MRC Regional Communications Manager (Cambridge) in December 2004 and has 25 years experience as a communications and public relations professional.
Adrian Penrose is a Regional Communications Manager at the London based Medical Research Council and has 25 years experience as a communications and public relations professional.
He works with MRC staff to identify opportunities and to develop and implement ideas to communicate the work of the MRC, including public engagement activities, education, media promotion, publications, local stakeholder relations, parliamentary and decision-maker influencing, policy consultations and promoting science through art.
For three years, Adrian managed communications at the MRC Human Nutrition Research Centre in Cambridge, which researches the links between nutrition and health, and worked particularly with Dr Susan Jebb to raise the profile of obesity as a serious public health concern.
Patient Organisation representative - Rebecca Porter
Rebecca Porta is Chief Executive of Orchid, a national charity which promotes awareness of male specific cancers, funds research and provides a range of services to patients, their families and healthcare professionals.
Over the last 17 years Rebecca has worked for a range of high profile healthcare charities. Her first role in the sector was with The Multiple Sclerosis Society where she supported the network of 300 local branches and later became national Fundraising Manager.
As Deputy Director of The Migraine Trust, a charity specialising in migraine and headache, she developed a PR programme and launched a series of successful Awareness Weeks and campaigns alongside developing patient services. As Head of Fundraising at CancerBACUP and later the British Lung Foundation, Rebecca worked with colleagues and external agencies to identify and deliver new fundraising and marketing strategies, projects, national media campaigns and services.
She is a member of the Institute of Fundraising and the CIPR.
