Stephanie Singh is a founder member of the Centre of Excellence for Safety in Older People’s Care (CESOP) and is working towards the training and education of the workforce within the social care sectors on issues around professionalism and attitudes and behaviours. As founder member of CESOP she felt that safety in the region could only be achieved through partnership and joint working and this led to huge support from all the stakeholders in acute care, primary care, social care, voluntary agencies and patient groups.

She strongly believes that safety in the care of older people must focus on the whole patient pathway from acute care to care in the community, in care homes and in people’s own homes. Stephanie’s focus is on influencing behaviours and attitudes at individual, team and organisation level and also empowering teams to innovate in developing a culture of continuous learning, professionalism and improvement.

She has experience of helping draft reviews on issues around professionalism and older peoples’ care. She is a lay member of ACCEA North West and the role involves analysing written and oral evidence, scoring and making decisions based on agreed criteria regarding competencies. She is keen to ensure that the patient’s perspective and the treatment of patients and relatives with dignity, respect and compassion are recognised in the award of National Clinical Excellence Awards to senior consultants and academic GPs in the North West.

She has a professional background in nursing and health and social care and (in her roles as nurse and midwife) Stephanie ensured that the patient’s views were paramount.

She worked in further education as both as support tutor and teacher of health and social care. Her students came from a wide range of social and ethnic backgrounds and included individuals who had specific learning disabilities and health issues. She tried to ensure that everyone was treated as an individual and treated with respect, dignity and compassion. The role was multifaceted providing both academic and pastoral support but also at times offering guidance and counselling.

She is also knowledgeable in the wider workings of the NHS and the role of different bodies and has a broad perspective on the future care of the ageing population and improving safety in older peoples’ care.