Clinical Improvement Networks

Black Country Provider Collaborative Clinical Leads, Project Managers and Operational Managers.

Clinical Leads

Breast

Mr Martin Sintler

Mr Martin Sinter is the Black Country Provider Collaborative (BCPC) Breast Clinical Lead. He is a consultant breast surgeon at Birmingham City Hospital and the Chair of the Breast Expert Advisory Group (EAG) for the West Midlands Cancer Alliance. Martin has a keen interest in delivering efficiency and maintaining targets.

Colorectal

Mr Andrew Torrance

Mr Andy Torrance is a Consultant Colorectal and General Surgeon at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust. He has lived, trained, and worked across the West Midlands for over 20 years, spending half of this time within the Black Country and West Birmingham area. He has held several senior leadership roles within the Trust, currently working as the Group Director for Surgical Services and is the Black Country ICS Colorectal Network Lead.

Critical Care

Dr Shameer Gopal

Dr Shameer Gopal became the Black Country Provider Collaborative (BCPC) Critical Care Clinical lead in November 2021. He is dual certified in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine and commenced his consultant post at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) in September 2006. Shameer became involved in medical management more recently when he took on the role of the clinical lead of the general intensive care unit (ICU) at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust in October 2020.

ENT (Head and Neck)

Mr John Murphy

Mr John Murphy is the ICS Network Lead for ENT and a Consultant ENT Surgeon with an interest in Otology. John also works as a Divisional Medical Director for Surgery at The Royal Wolverhampton Trust. He has over 25 years’ experience working within the NHS.

Gynaecology

Mr Ayman Ewies

Mr Ayman Ewies is a consultant gynaecological surgeon for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals and the Clinical Lead for Gynaecology for the Black Country Provider Collaborative. He has developed a broad experience, knowledge, and skills in gynaecology since 1988 and regularly gets invited to run workshops, courses, and masterclasses in hysteroscopic surgery all over United Kingdom.

Ophthalmology

Mr John Barry

Mr John Barry has worked as the clinical service lead for Ophthalmology at Russells Hall Hospital since 2019. During this time, he oversaw the rapid transformation of eye services during the COVID-19 pandemic, including supporting the development of our Corbett Ophthalmology Hub which is still expanding. John has also been an ophthalmology consultant at Russells Hall Hospital since 2008 with a special interest in paediatric ophthalmology.

Orthopaedics

Mr Sohail Butt

Mr Sohail Butt is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and the Clinical Orthopaedic Lead for the Black Country Provider Collaborative. Sohail has also worked as the Clinical Director for Trauma & Orthopaedics, Plastic surgery, ENT, Maxillo facial Surgery and Ophthalmology for The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust between 2017-2019.

Skin

Dr James Halpern and Dr Aaron Wernham

Dr James Halpern is a Consultant Dermatologist and the joint Black Country lead for skin. He has been a consultant in the Black Country for the past 11 years and is the clinical director and lead consultant for Dermatology at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. His clinical interests include Paediatric (children’s) Dermatology and General Adult Dermatology.

Dr Aaron Wernham works as a Consultant Dermatologist at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, and is the joint Black Country lead for skin. Whilst working as a Consultant at Walsall, Aaron has led the development of a regional Mohs service for the Black Country whilst continuing to deliver this specialist form of surgery as Mohs service lead in Leicester.

Pharmacy

Puneet Sharma

Puneet Sharma works as the lead for the Pharmacy and Medicines workstream within the Black Country ICS. Puneet also works as the Chief Pharmacist for Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and has almost 20 years’ experience within the NHS.

Urology

Mr Pete Cooke

Mr Peter Cooke has worked as a Consultant Urological Surgeon at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust since 2004. He is also the Clinical Lead in Urology for the Black Country. Peter has a specialist interest in prostate and bladder cancer surgery.

Project Managers

Head of Project Management Office, Critical Care and ENT

Polly Kaur

Polly Kaur is supporting the delivery of The Black Country Provider Collaborative Programme as the head of the Project Management Office, including Critical Care. Polly has over 20 years of NHS experience working across the Acute and Community Sector including The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, George Elliot, Heartlands and Sandwell West Birmingham NHS Trust and Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust.

Email: polly.kaur2@nhs.net

Breast and Gynaecology

Kelly Hayward

Kelly Hayward is the project manager for the delivery of the breast and gynaecology clinical improvement programmes. This programme oversees the implementation of surgical robots within The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust (DGFT) and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust (SWBH). Prior to joining the Black Country Provider Collaborative, Kelly was employed as an Improvement Consultant at Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit, responsible for managing NHS consultancy assignments focused on programme delivery and improving healthcare service quality and efficiency.

Email: kelly.hayward7@nhs.net

Colorectal and General Surgery

Aradhika Heer

Aradhika Heer works as the Provider Collaborative HR & OD Lead, along with providing project management support to the colorectal clinical network. Aradhika has worked in the NHS since 2014 and is currently the Co-Chair for The Royal Wolverhampton BAME Employee Voice Group Network and a Cultural Ambassador for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Email: aradhika.heer@nhs.net

Ophthalmology and Urology

Khalida Begum

Khalida Begum provides project management support to the Urology and Ophthalmology Clinical Networks for the Black Country Provider Collaborative. Khalida has worked in the NHS since 2015 and previously held a project management role at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, supporting the programme within the Medicines division.

Email: khalida.begum5@nhs.net

Orthopaedics, Skin and Pharmacy

Leanne Bood

Leanne is the project manager supporting both the Orthopaedic Clinical Network and the Skin Orthopaedic Clinical Network for the BCPC. Leanne has 20 years of experience within health and social care and joined the BCPC in May 2022 following eight years at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Email: leanne.bood@nhs.net

Operational Managers

Breast

Samantha Beck

Samantha Beck works as the system operational lead role to develop breast services across the Black Country Provider Collaborative. She is also the Interim Deputy Group Director of operations for the women and child health group and the Directorate General Manager for Gynae, Gynae Oncology and Breast and Sandwell and West Birmingham.

Samantha has over 15 years’ experience within the NHS and is a nurse by background.

Orthopaedics

Charlotte Hathaway

Charlotte Hathaway is the System Operational Lead for Orthopaedics and Group Manager at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. Charlotte has worked in healthcare for 13 years which has included time at a global management consultancy. She started her NHS career on the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme and has a passion of operational management.