Meet the team
Lindsay Oliver qualified in 1989 with a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, and has worked both in a primary and specialist care settings. In 2003, she became the first Consultant Dietitian and used the opportunity to become more involved in the development of self-care programmes both at a local and national level, including the development, research and roll out of both the DAFNE and DESMOND diabetes programmes . In addition she has a major interest in communications skills and patient centred care, including the development of innovative approaches to patient care.
She has extensive experience in developing quality assured training and education programmes and in 2009 was seconded to head up the national training team for the Year of Care Programme. She was appointed to the role of National Director in 2011.
Nick Lewis-Barned is a retired Endocrinologist and Diabetes Specialist Physician in Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and was involved in delivery of acute medical care. He qualified in 1982 and has been a Senior Lecturer and Consultant Physician since 1990 in New Zealand and England. He has a background as a researcher and teacher as well as clinician and Head of Service for the Northumbria Diabetes Service.
He has a longstanding interest in service delivery, translation of research into practice and personalisation of care. He was Clinical Lead for the North of Tyne Year of Care Pilot, is a national trainer, and was a member of the steering group for the development of non-traditional provider services. He has written articles about care planning, support for self-management and commissioning to support this. Through 2013-2015 he was the Royal College of Physicians Clinical Fellow for Shared Decision Making and Support for Self-Management.
Becky has been a GP Partner at Glenpark Medical Centre in Gateshead since 2002. She has led the diabetes team at her practice since then, and was the Gateshead Clinical Lead for Diabetes for Newcastle Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group from 2014-2023. When NGCCG started working with Year of Care to implement care and support planning in 2014, Glenpark was one of the trailblazer practices and Becky completed training to become a Year of Care Trainer in 2015.
Her practice has embedded Year of Care care and support planning for people with single and multiple long term conditions with positive feedback from patients and practice staff. Becky joined the Year of Care team in 2019 as GP Clinical Lead and Advisor.
Lesley Thompson qualified as a nurse in 1989 and after moving from general medicine to the community attained her BSc Hons Community Health Care studies. She worked as a district nursing sister in North Tyneside, before pursuing an interest in the specialist area of diabetes. She has worked as a Diabetes Specialist Nurse, predominately supporting and facilitating the development of diabetes innovation within Northumberland. She has been involved with the implementation of training for professionals and educational programmes for people with diabetes.
A desire to promote patient involvement and self-management in long term conditions led to a move to Year of Care Partnerships, where she has been involved in the development and delivery of the national training programme. Lesley has completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Professional Practice at Northumbria University.
Helen Kleiser qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 2001 at Brunel Unversity. Since this time, she has worked within in a range of clinical care settings, with people of all ages. Helen has a master’s degree in Rehabilitation and has worked in both senior clinical and managerial roles within the NHS. During her career, Helen has worked closely with Public Health in designing, and delivering education packages and contributing to the development of new services and innovations. She has specialist knowledge of older people’s care and has a keen interest in workforce development.
Throughout her career, Helen has been aware of the contribution personalised care can make to health outcomes and quality of life. She is passionate about supporting adults to age well and is delighted to be working within the Year of Care team.
Ruth Wyllie's career spans over three decades, beginning with qualifying as a Registered General Nurse and Registered Sick Children’s Nurse in 1987, complemented later as BSc Hons Paediatric Nurse Practitioner. With her wealth of experience in various senior NHS roles, Ruth has been instrumental in shaping paediatric rheumatology services locally, nationally, and internationally for the past 20 years. Her passion for education and communication is evident in her dedication to guiding families in effectively managing musculoskeletal conditions. Ruth places special emphasis on aiding young adults during their transition from paediatric to adult services.
Her commitment to professional education notably led to the development of "Paediatric Musculoskeletal Matters" a resource tailored for nurses and allied healthcare professionals. This partnership with Newcastle and Northumbria universities and The Great North Childrens Hospital now has worldwide reach. Her collaboration with the Royal College of Nursing has resulted in the establishment of a national competencies framework for rheumatology nurses. Ruth also contributed to The Health foundation MAGIC program. As a new member Ruth is delighted to be part of The Year of Care team.
Lucy graduated with a 1st Class BSc Honours degree in Business from the University of Swansea in 2003. She has worked in account and business management roles and joined the Year of Care Partnerships team in November 2015.
Lucy supports the team and Year of Care community of practice in the delivery of our training and support packages ensuring effective systems, resources and processes are in place.
Ashleigh Gaffney, Admin Team Coordinator, and Michaela Mackenzie, Training Admin Assistant make up the Year of Care admin team. Ashleigh and Michaela support the development and lead the production of Year of Care resources.
The admin team is responsible for arranging and organising training and dealing with all general enquiries.
We work with a network of national quality assured trainers who have been through our training programme. They are all experienced trainers and are committed to supporting and implementing care and support planning.
