Prof Ann Keen MP is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health Services at the Department of Health.
Elected to Parliament in 1997 Ann was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Frank Dobson from 1999-2000. From 2001 until he became Prime Minister in 2007, Ann was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP.
Ann’s career in the National Health Service spanned 25 years. She trained as a Registered nurse at Ashford General Hospital and won prizes as Nurse of the Year and Children's Nurse of the Year. From 1989-93, she was Head of the Faculty of Advanced Nursing at Queen Charlotte's College in Hammersmith (now part of Thames Valley University).
She has served as the General Secretary of the Community and District Nursing Association (CDNA) and is Honorary Professor of Nursing at Thames Valley University as well as a Fellow of the Queens Nursing Institute. She has also recently been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws at the University of Bedfordshire and been awarded an Honorary Professorship for Nursing at Kings College London.
Ann is well known for her campaigning on health issues. Among others, she ran a high profile campaign raising awareness of the treatment for women with ovarian cancer, which resulted in her winning the CancerBacup Public Figure of the Year in 1999.
Ann has strong international links especially in women’s health issues and is a strong supporter of the White Ribbon Alliance which campaigns for safe maternal health. She has recently returned from the United Nations in New York with Gordon and Sarah Brown to work on Development Goal 5.
Clare Chapman
, Chair Department of Health
Clare is Director General of Workforce and is responsible for workforce issues in the NHS and social care system. She was appointed to the position in January 2007.
Clare has over 20 years experience in the UK, USA and Europe undertaking various roles including Group Personnel Director at Tesco, Vice President of Human Resources at Pepsi Cola and Dean of Quaker University at Quaker Oats Incorporated, where she established the company’s worldwide learning institute.
Karen Jennings, Chair NHS Trade Unions
Karen is the National Secretary for Health at UNISON. Karen has lead strategic responsibility for developing UNISON health policy, campaigns and the organisation of almost half a million members who work across the health care sector. Karen is the elected Chair of the NHS Staff Council and Social Partnership Forum.
She has worked in the NHS and practised as a registered nurse for ten years, before becoming a researcher in health and social policy.
Karen also has European and International responsibilities. This includes Presidency of the Standing Committee for Health and Social Services for the European Public Services Union, Co-Chair of the EU Hospital Sector Social Dialogue and is Chair of Public Services International Health Task force.
Gill Bellord, Chair NHS Employers
Gill Bellord is Director of Pay, Pensions and Employment Relations and a Deputy Director at NHS Employers
Gill has worked for NHS Employers since its inception in 2004 and leads the employer input into the Social Partnership Forum. She is also responsible for the NHS negotiating machinery for pay and pensions. Her work involves liaison with many stakeholders in the NHS and other organisations across the UK.
Gill has previously worked on a range of HR policy areas in the Department of Health, including: pay; undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and its associated funding; and workforce planning. She has also worked in an NHS HR Department (the former Leeds Health Authority) and at the former NHS Pensions Agency, now Pensions division of the Business Services Authority.