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Social Care Research Ethics Committee - Members

Professor David Stanley, PhD AcSS FHEA FRSA (Chair)

David Stanley is Professor of Social Care at Northumbria University. Prior to appointment as Chair of the Social Care Research Ethics Committee, he was a member of the Northumberland NHS Research Ethics Committee and of the Department of Health planning group on ethics review in social care research. He has previously managed social work qualifying training courses and worked in residential education and care services for statutory and independent sector organisations. He has also acted as independent chair of complaints reviews panels for a number of Councils with Social Services Responsibilities.

David is a non executive director of Skills for Care, the employer led authority on the training standards and development needs of social care staff in England; a founding Editor of the Journal of Social Work, published by Sage; and a director of Strategic Solutions Ltd, an organisation development company. He is an elected Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is a former chair of the Joint Universities Council for Public Administration, Social Policy and Social Work Education.

Sandra Andrews BSc MSc

After studying Social Psychology and Criminal Justice Policy at LSE, Sandra joined the Police Service as a police officer. She currently works in a Public Protection Unit, these units were set up in order to protect the most vulnerable people in society from the most dangerous offenders. Her work is primarily about protecting very high risk victims of domestic abuse, although it also encompasses vulnerable adults and child abuse victims. She is responsible for creating murder prevention strategies which are achieved through close working relationships with partner agencies such as mental health services, women’s refuge, homeless unit, probation, etc. Always keen to raise awareness of domestic abuse she regularly holds training sessions examining the differing beliefs and tactics used by perpetrators. There are many parallels between the work of public protection and research ethics committees. Sandra believes her experience in this field coupled with the research she undertook as a post graduate will help her contribute to the work of social care research.

“In my opinion the majority of the people I work with are in need of social care in one way or another. It is only through partnership working that we can enable some of those people to access this care.”

Samantha Clemens BA

Sam has worked in social research for 20 years, and has conducted research across a wide range of social and public policy areas, using a range of methodologies. She is currently Deputy Director of the Health Group at the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), where she is involved in a number of projects, ranging from large-scale quantitative studies (such as the National Diet and Nutrition Survey) to smaller studies such as consultation work to assess the feasibility of a survey of people with long term conditions. Sam has been involved in setting up an internal Research Ethics Committee at NatCen, which aims to enhance ethical awareness and facilitate good quality research.

Professor Malcolm Cowburn BA MA M.Phil PhD

Malcolm has over 14 years experience of teaching social work in Universities at both undergraduate and post graduate levels. He has supervised many students on placement in a wide range of social work settings. Recently (at the University of Bradford) he convened (undergraduate and postgraduate) modules relating to Service Users and Carers. He involved Service Users and Carers in the teaching and assessment of these modules. He also set up an MA in Mental Health Practice (Higher Specialist & Approved Mental Health Practitioner award) and involved service users and carers in the development of the new degree. Prior to becoming an academic Malcolm worked for 12 years as a Probation Officer and also set up a therapy centre for children and young people who were sexually abused. Malcolm has worked as a ward volunteer in a hospice for six years and he currently acts, in a voluntary capacity, as a consultant to a post-bereavement groupwork programme in the same hospice. Malcolm's main research interests (male sex offenders and diversity in prisons) are centred in ethically sensitive areas.

He has published in relation to these matters:

Malcolm is currently a Professor of Applied Social Science at Sheffield Hallam University and has recently led an ESRC funded project exploring Diversity issues in a maximum security prison. This research was scrutinised by an NHS Research Ethics Committee.

Professor David Croisdale-Appleby, JP OBE PhD FRSH FRIPH FRSA

David is active in the formulation of national policy in health and social care, and campaigns for social justice. He is a Professor at the Wolfson Research Institute; the Durham Business School; and at the School of Medicine and Health at Durham University. He chairs a number of national organisations including Skills for Care (the sector skills council); the English Federation of Disability Sport; Charities Evaluation Service; and inspects Medical Education for the General Medical Council/Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board. He has served on multicentre medical research ethics committees.

Rachel Dittrich BA MA MA

Rachel has worked in statutory social care services for 7 years. She is currently Research Manager for Hampshire County Council's Adult Services Department and chairs the Department's Research Development and Governance Panel which reviews research locally. Her research interests include the personalisation of adult social care and knowledge management. Rachel is committed to supporting practitioner research in order to increase the social care knowledge base. She is keen to ensurethat research is conducted with, rather than on, service users and carers.

Dr Michael Dunn BA MA PhD

Michael Dunn is a Senior Researcher in Health and Social Care Ethics at the Ethox Centre, University of Oxford. He is an academic with a longstanding interest in undertaking interdisciplinary analyses of the ethical issues that arise in the day-to-day provision of health and social care services in residential care settings. He is particularly keen to establish social care ethics as an important topic for substantive intellectual and practical analysis. Michael has experience of having his own studies reviewed by a healthcare REC, and is keen to develop a service that is tailored to social care researchers, and particularly those using social science and qualitative research methodologies. To read more about Michael’s research, please visit: The Ethox Centre.

Michael also has previous experience working with adults and young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, both as a support worker and learning support assistant.

Eleanor Grey MA PGCE FRSA (Alternate Vice Chair)

Eleanor Grey has experience of undertaking national studies or working for funding organizations in social care, health and education. Her varied career in policy-relevant research and in management includes the Home Office, National Consumer Council, an inner London borough, National Children’s Bureau, Department of Health and Competition Commission. She became active in bringing a consumer perspective to public services after retiring from full-time work. She chaired independent reviews of NHS complaints and was on an NHS multi-centre research ethics committee. Eleanor was a lay member of a NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) guideline development group on dentistry and since 2006 has been on the NICE technology appraisal committee, which considers the clinical and cost effectiveness of drugs and other technologies. She is a Cambridge history graduate and lives in London.

Susan Harrison PgDip MA MA MHM (Vice Chair)

Susan has worked in UK health and social care management for some 20 years, in the independent and statutory sectors. For the last five years she has worked as a self-employed consultant and interim manager in Adult Social Services.

Susan is committed to developing social care services and management practice that are underpinned by a strong evidence base that demonstrates effectiveness.

She has been involved in managing services that have participated in local and national evaluation and research. She has also commissioned a number of service reviews, needs assessments and commissioning strategies which have drawn on and analysed demographic, epidemiological and service use data.

For a number of years Susan has been a member of the Research Council of a charity working with, and on behalf of, people with disfigurement.

Claire Hopkins BA MSc

Claire began her professional career working for social services, initially in a children's home and then in child protection working with families, carrying out assessments. After graduating and completing a Masters in Social Policy she worked at the Institute of Psychiatry as a researcher. More recently, as a member of the Law Society's Mental Health Review Tribunal Panel, she has represented patients in their appeals against being detained. She is committed to ensuring research is valuable and of high quality and in her membership of the Social Care REC is maintaining her career long interest in social care and social research while managing her busy family life mothering four children.

Valerie Lang BSc(Econ) MBE

Valerie has had a lifetime’s experience of disability, having been born with Cerebral Palsy. Although her parents were told that she was ineducable, she was educated at special school, at technical college, and at London University. She worked first as an Assistant Librarian, and was later promoted to Senior Research Officer at the Civil Aviation Authority. She has been retired for 11 years. She has experience on the Boards of charities, including Scope (when it was the Spastics Society), HomeShare, and Mobility Choice. She has just retired from the Board of the European Disability Forum. She has used care services both in public and private sectors, but finds great limitations in the care provision for older people. Valerie has had five years as a member on the Moorfields & Whittington Hospitals REC. She felt that her experience might be of more relevance to the Social Care REC than to a healthcare REC.

Irene Linder

Irene has worked in social care for over 22 years. She started as a care assistant in a unit for the Elderly, a few years later becoming Assistant Manager. After being redeployed she worked caring for elders who had Dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease. Irene recognises the support of the families as being an important part of the care package. She is now semi retired. In the past she has been a carer of a close family member using social care services.

Irene has been a member of a Health Care REC for seven years, but sees the need for research in a social care setting. She is committed to support quality involvement in research to improve the social care evidence base.

Craig Moss BSc

Craig has worked in the substance misuse field since 2000 within Addaction, the UK’s largest charity solely dedicated to the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. The charity specialises in a range of treatments for substance misuse, from frontline interventions such as needle exchange, through to counselling and residential rehabilitation.

As Addaction’s Head of Research and Information, Craig is the strategic lead of the charity’s research and information management agenda within the substance misuse field. Craig leads on all research projects within Addaction’s research governance framework, which includes ethical review. Craig is trained in professional research ethics and is particularly interested ensuring vulnerable adults, young people and their families receive the highest standard of social care.

Daphne Obang DL, BA, MA

Daphne trained both as a generic social worker and as a psychiatric social worker and is on the register of the GSCC. She was a Director of Social Services and Housing for 7 years and has had responsibility at corporate director level for housing services, and chairing responsibilities for a local Safeguarding Children Board, Youth Offending Services, Drug and Alcohol Services and a Crime and Disorder Partnership. She continues to advise on safeguarding within the Methodist Church.

She has also had a long career as an academic specialising in social administration, social work and the impact of social constructs such as gender on the development of individuals and communities.

She served for 10 years as a non executive director within the NHS. She is Deputy Lord Lieutenant for the county of East Sussex.

She has worked both in the UK and abroad leading development work among low income families in Egypt and Sudan. Her overseas work has included training, consultancy and authorship for the Commonwealth Secretariat. Daphne is now an associate of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and is still a member of the association’s equalities network and was the author of the LGA and ADASS submission to the call for evidence by the Department of Health for its review on age discrimination on health and social care.

In addition to work with the statutory sector, Daphne is involved in chairing a voluntary sector organisation dedicated to empowering BME individuals and groups who live in semi rural locations and has a non executive role with the Race Equality Foundation of which she is the Vice Chair. She sits on the Partner Council of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and is also an Associate of the Institute. She sits on the board of Penrose, a rehabilitation and social integration organisation. At present Daphne is engaged in supporting SCIE's production of resource material for the social care sector as it prepares to implement the equality bill.

She has particular competencies around organisational development and governance and equalities. Recently, she has been employing her background in mental health and her knowledge of the management of complex organisations to participate in the strategic development of a rehabilitation organisation specialising in provision for the well–being of offenders and concentrating on social reintegration, offender health and social care. Daphne led a research project to develop the user membership concept and constructing specialist services for ageing and disabled offenders within the secure estate. She also supports organisations with workforce strategy. Daphne Obang is also a member of the newly created GMC Reference Community.

Bridget Penhale BA MSc/CQSW

Bridget has worked in an academic setting for the past 12 years, mostly in the field of Social Work and Social Care. This has included teaching student social workers about ethics and ethical practice in community care. She now works as a Reader in Gerontology at the University of Sheffield, where she has a research focus on older people and supportive care in later life and specifically on violence, abuse and neglect of older people and vulnerable adults. Prior to this Bridget had a lengthy career as a social worker and manager in a number of different settings, mainly specialising in work with older people and their carers. As her focus has been social work and social care rather than healthcare (despite working at times in healthcare settings) Bridget was keen to be involved in a Social Care REC, where she brings both her research and practice experience to assist the committee. For further information about Bridget, including her research interests and publications, please see her page on the University of Sheffield website.

Dr Suzanne Shale BA MA PhD

Suzanne is an ethicist, working independently as an adviser, researcher and teacher in medical ethics, medical law and medical education. She is interested in research ethics both as ‘supplier’ and a ‘consumer’ of research. As a researcher, her own projects require a favourable ethical opinion from Research Ethics Committees, and she teaches about the law and ethics of research. As a former chair of a not-for-profit organization working with people experiencing mental ill-health and other difficulties, Suzanne sees a need to encourage robust and ethical research into social care. Suzanne was for fifteen years a lecturer in law at the University of Oxford, and was also director of the University’s Institute for the Advancement of University Learning. She now works regularly with the Postgraduate Deanery for Kent, Surrey and Sussex, as well as the General Medical Council, Postgraduate Medical Education Training Board and Royal Free Hospital. In addition, Suzanne chairs the College of Emergency Medicine Lay Advisory Group and volunteers as a bereavement counsellor at Trinity Hospice. Suzanne holds a PhD and MA in medical law and ethics and has published widely in the fields of medical ethics, law, public policy and higher education.

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