MEET OUR VOLUNTEERS
Lorna Farr
Community Engagement Volunteer Lorna is also an ‘authorised representative’ and part of our ‘Enter and View’ team.
Lorna’s experience includes holding a variety of clinical, leadership and managerial roles within the NHS, both in in-patient care but also within the community, working closely with social services and other partnership agencies, clinical commissioning and in the area of advocacy.
Lorna said: “With my professional background, along with having been both a patient and carer of family members using health and social services, I know what experience of services I would wish for me and my family. In volunteering, I hope to be able to support others to have a voice, sharing their experiences to make services readily accessible and better for all."
Colin Nevin
Having volunteered with Healthwatch Northumberland in the past, Colin re-joined the team in 2020 as a Community Engagement Volunteer.
Colin has much experience from across the voluntary sector, having worked with organisations including The Salvation Army, the scouts, Northumberland County Blind Association, and currently Northumberland CVA. He was the chairman of Seaton Park Medical Group’s Patient Participation Group and was involved with Healthwatch Northumberland’s mental health task group.
Colin says “I have always been interested in hearing what people have to say and going out of my way to help wherever I can I am keen to use my experience to help improve health and social care for everyone..”
Anne Armstrong
Previously a member of the Healthwatch Northumberland staff team, Anne returned to the team in March 2020 as a Community Engagement Volunteer.
Anne brings a huge amount of experience to the role, particularly in the area of social care where she worked for over 40 years, latterly at senior management level with Barnardos and Action for Children. Anne is passionate about promoting health and social care across Northumberland, as she feels these services have been good to her and she would like to give something back.
She says “My volunteering role has enabled me to make a contribution and feel connected, which has been both rewarding and worthwhile.”
Denyse Organ
Denyse joined us in March 2020 as a Community Engagement Volunteer. She previously volunteered for Healthwatch North Tyneside but a move to Northumberland led her to join our team, which we are delighted about! Denyse is keen to put her previous experience as a Healthwatch ‘Enter & View’ volunteer to good use, listening to people’s experiences of health and social care across Northumberland.
Denyse says “After retiring, I wanted to give something back to my community. It’s important that people know where to find the support or specialist care that they need, and I’m happy to help point people in the right direction.”
Karen Moulding
Karen joined Healthwatch Northumberland in April 2022 as an Office Support Volunteer. Karen has a wealth of office-based experience, as well as a background in nursing and personal experience of social care services.
She is keen to use her skills to help people in Northumberland share their views on care services and get the support they need.
Karen says “I’m keen to help people get their voices heard and find the right care for them.”
Matthew Gilbert
Matthew joined Healthwatch Northumberland in November 2023 as a Community Engagement Volunteer.
Matthew says: "I’m passionate about making a positive difference to people’s lives and enjoy communicating with others, and volunteering with Healthwatch Northumberland seemed like a great way to do this. I’m looking forward to hearing about people’s experiences of health and social care services, whilst building my own confidence and skills that will be invaluable in my future."
Marilyn Kendall
Marilyn is one of our Community Engagement Volunteers. She says “When I retired, I was keen to do some volunteering and decided to approach Healthwatch Northumberland because I have been interested in health and social care provision for a long time.
"I wanted to learn more about how these services are provided locally and see if I could help to support and improve them for people. I think it‘s vitally important to learn from the experiences of those who are actually using services, and to work in partnership with them. I’m looking forward to learning new skills, meeting new people, and feeling a sense of purpose in retirement".
Fiona Robson
Fiona joined Healthwatch as a Community Engagement Volunteer in the summer of 2024 and hopes to progress to part of the Enter and View team.
She has a wide range of NHS and social care experience, having worked as a GP up until her retirement. She has seen firsthand the frustration people can have in trying to access the most appropriate service for their needs and their varying levels of satisfaction with health and social care services provided to them and what’s on offer in their geographical area. She has also experienced the frustration of care staff in not always being able to provide the standard of care they would like.
By collecting people’s views and experiences of health and social care services, whether good or bad, and feeding it back to the relevant people, Fiona hopes that there will be an improvement in the standard and consistency of service that people receive throughout Northumberland. She also looks forward to being able to signpost people to the most appropriate service for their concerns.
Stella Newton
Stella qualified as a nurse over 40 years ago. She has worked in the public and private sector, including home care, and spent the last 20 years working as a nurse within the NHS. Stella says "I was a foster parent for teenagers for a number of years. I found it very rewarding and challenging. Since retirement I have volunteered for the Royal Voluntary Service and enrolled with the North Northumberland Voluntary Forum, which has offered many opportunities to mix and help in the community. Volunteering for Healthwatch Northumberland will enable me to use my passion for promoting health and social care in my local area."
As part of her volunteering role Stella is looking forward to helping her local community access the care and support they need.By hearing people’s experiences of care she hopes services can be improved and shaped for the needs of our rural area.
