South West
Find out more about the South West SPF
The South West (SW) SPF was established in 2014 by a collaboration of employers, trade unions and the NHS Employers' South engagement team.
Priorities for 2025/26
- Managing a partnership focus on compassionate culture, particularly around the impact of NHS infrastructure changes, including development of a resource supporting the management of organisational change with compassion.
- The impact of infrastructure changes on the workforce, including the 10 Year Health Plan and refresh of the 10 Year Workforce Plan.
- A continued focus on staff sexual safety and violence reduction, working in partnership.
- The strategic importance of good job evaluation practice - development of best practice job evaluation principles in partnership.
- Maintaining strong, effective and proactive partnership working to support the challenges of the infrastructure/organisational changes ahead.
Achievements in 2024/25
- We held a successful, in-person South West SPF workshop in March 2025 on sexual safety, where members shared best practice from case studies in partnership in a just and learning culture.
- We collated and shared a partnership response to shaping the 10 Year Health Plan following a November workshop session in the south west, following up in January to determine focus areas for the SPF to support and influence.
- We developed and maintained constructive partnership engagement with the regional NHS England workforce team through active involvement of the deputy director of strategic workforce planning, supply and innovation in agenda planning and attendance at forum meetings.
- We reaffirmed our commitment to working in partnership on key strategic priorities, including the revision and agreement of our terms of reference.
Meet the team
- Trade union co-chair – Sarah Woodward, Regional Organiser, UNISON
- Trade union co-chair – Abigail Moore, Regional Coordinator, BMA
- Trade union deputy co-chair – Steven Pulsford, Operational Manager, RCN
- Management co-chair – Hannah Foster, Chief People Officer, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Management co-chair – Alfredo Thompson, Executive Director of People and Culture, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
- Management co-chair – Kirstie Lord, Deputy Chief People Officer, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Terms of reference
Read the South West SPF terms of reference - updated March 2025.
