Our team
KQuIP is a dynamic network of kidney health professionals, patients and carers who are committed to developing, supporting and sharing improvement in kidney services, to enhance outcomes and quality of life for people with kidney disease.
KQuIP programme management team
Catherine is a Quality Improvement Programme Manager currently supporting the KQuIP home therapies QI project which aims to improve the quality and uptake of home therapies across the UK. Catherine also supports the national paediatric KQuIP network and coordinates The Renal Association / Kidney Care UK annual Patient Reported Experience Measure.
Prior to working for KQuIP, Catherine studied Anthropology at university in Sussex and went on to work in the programme management team of an international healthcare charity. Her main interests are patient experience, communications and – of course – quality improvement.
When not working Catherine enjoys playing the piano and flute, reading, walking her labradoodle, camping, and cycling.
Julie worked as a District Nurse before moving into improvement. She led the Productive Care Programme for NHS South of England SHA – teaching lean skills to clinicians and improving patient care. At the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, Julie worked on various improvement programmes, including Productive Community Services. More recently, at NHS Improving Quality in the Patient Experience team, Julie ran patient and clinician events and did research for the Department of Health on the experience of women who suffer from loss in pregnancy.
Leeanne brings 17 years nursing experience and 3.5 years implementing quality improvement to the KQuIP team. As the Quality Improvement (QI) Programme Manager for North West and Yorkshire and Humber, her enthusiasm lies in building QI capability and QI leadership with those who have direct patient contact. She believes data/ measurement can tell a story and combined with a patient narrative, can build a solid case for change.
When she is not supporting healthcare professionals and patients to change the world, Leeanne enjoys running, reading and spending time with her family.
Leeanne's motto is: Don't reinvent the wheel; pinch with pride
Ranjit Klare is a Quality Improvement Programme Manager for KQuIP working in the North East of England.
Ranjit has 10 years of experience of operational and strategic management within the Public and Charitable sector. More recently, at Macmillan Cancer Support worked as a National Programme Manager with external stakeholders, delivering benefits advice for people affected by cancer.
Ranjit has long-standing interests in service development, continuous Quality Improvement and welfare and was a member of the Board of Trustees for a Social Justice charity promoting work of the independent social welfare legal advice services.
KQuIP administrative team
KQuIP co-chairs
Paul Cockwell is a consultant physician and nephrologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham and South West Birmingham Hospitals and professor of nephrology at the University of Birmingham, UK.
Paul is clinical vice president of the UK Renal Association, the professional representative group for UK kidney specialists. He chairs the Royal College of Physicians joint specialty committee for renal medicine.
Paul has helped lead the clinical development in Birmingham of one of the largest and most comprehensive renal services in Europe and has developed a large integrated clinical research infrastructure supporting multiple outputs. Paul has long standing interests in service development, clinical quality, and education.
Paul has a number of interests outside work, including playing and competing in sport, particularly squash and cycling (in which he averages a significant fall (‘a yard sale’)) every 6 months, and keeping his two teenage sons in line
Dr Sharlene Greenwood is a Consultant Renal Physiotherapist at King’s College Hospital, Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at King’s College London University, the chair of the UK Kidney Research Consortium Exercise and Lifestyle Clinical Study Group, and the President of the British Renal Society.
Sharlene has 15 years of experience as a specialist renal physiotherapist. She leads a clinical and research team of 16 therapists, leading on various research and clinical innovation projects in renal, cardiac and physical activity.
Sharlene is passionate about supporting and encouraging exercise services for patients with Chronic Kidney Disease. She has a keen interest in Quality Improvement (QI) and as the co-chair of KQuIP, Sharlene is facilitating the implementation of key national QI projects at a regional and national level.
The KQuIP board
Dal Hothi is a Consultant Paediatric Nephrologist and clinical lead for Home Haemodialysis (HD) at Great Ormond Street Hospital. HD has been her passion and interest for many years. She completed her MD in Paediatric HD split between two sites, Sick Kids Toronto and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). She then secured funding for a 4 year Home HD pilot at GOSH but was successful in achieving substantive status at the end of year 2. As a team they have trained and recruited in excess of 30 patients to date, the largest paediatric cohort internationally.
Dal is Clinical Improvement and Patient Safety Expert. She is the Associate Medical Director for Quality, Safety & Patient Experience and is Co-Chair of the Development workstream for the Kidney Quality Improvement Partnership (KQuIP). She is a ‘Q’ member and part of the Expert Working Group for the Paediatric Chapter.
In her student years (‘a long time ago’), Fiona studied a BA (Hons) English at Southampton University. However, after her student years Fiona pursued and continues to pursue her interest in healthcare. Fiona’s roles at present is Policy Director for The British Kidney Patient Association, and co-chairs the Risk workstream for the Acute Kidney Injury National Programme.
Fiona is Chair of the UK Renal Registry Patient Council, the West Herts Hospital Organ Donation committee and is vice chair at The Local Kidney Patients Association at Lister Hospital. In her spare time (though we find it hard to believe she has any!) Fiona takes things at a bit more relaxed pace, and enjoys activities such as sleeping, reading, and going for long walks with the family dog, Ollie.
Gill is Scientific Advisor for Janssen Diabetes and represents the Association of Renal Industries on the KQuIP Board. Gill is also a member of the communications workstream. With a background in medical biochemistry, Gill is practical and pragmatic in her approach and brings marketing and communications expertise and skills to help us ‘get things done’.
In her spare time, Gill is a closet Barry Manilow fan (until now that is!) and if she could dine with anyone it would be her Grandpa so that she could talk to him about his life now she is an adult. All that before jetting back to Vietnam and the Maldives which are her favourite destinations.
Katie has worked as a haemodialysis nurse for the last 17 years, presently working part-time as the clinical educator for the haemodialysis unit at Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She recently obtained a MDT Fellowship in vascular access with the UK Renal Registry, where she is finally getting time to explore her interest in research. Her clinical interests are haemodialysis, vascular access, patient safety, acute kidney injury and education for renal nurses.
Katie helped create the BRS Vascular Access Special Interest Group, is chair for the KQuIP Measurement and Understanding workstream as well as leading MAGIC (BRS VA / VASBI vascular access project supported by KQuIP). She is passionate about QI and has led a number of local QI initiatives in Derby renal unit around her areas of clinical interest. As well as national and regional initiatives, Katie is particularly interested in how KQuIP can inspire numerous local QI projects in renal units across the UK, improving the care of people with kidney disease in small but numerous ways.
Much of Katie’s spare time is taken up looking after and riding her horse and spending time with her much-neglected husband.
Dr Kerry Tomlinson trained at Cambridge and Oxford (but supports Cambridge in the boat race) and completed her renal specialist training in Nottingham. She joined University Hospitals North Midlands as a consultant in 2002. She works in all aspects of renal medicine. She sub-specializes in renal transplantation and has been transplant lead nephrologist at UHNM since 2002. In that role she improved access to transplant listing for UHNM patients. The UHNM transplant service was commended as a local model of excellence in the West Midlands Peer Review 2010. Kerry was co-project lead for the West Midlands Strategic Cardiovascular Network/Renal Registry QI project “Transplant First: Addressing inequality in access to Kidney Transplantation in the West Midlands”. She now leads the Transplant First Project as adopted by KQUIP and chairs the West Midlands Transplant improvement group.
Lisa is a Consultant Nurse at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust where she is Lead Nurse – Living Donation, NHS Blood and Transplant. With regard to KQuIP Lisa is Member of the Partnership Board as the British Transplant Society’s representative and Leadership Workstream.
Lisa’s special interest in quality improvement is in developing multi-disciplinary leadership to sustain quality improvement initiatives that enable patients and their families to have access to their best options for kidney care and treatment.
When she’s not working Lisa is planning a trip to Antarctica, playing the saxophone or doing anything outdoors.
Paul is Director of Marketing Communications at Kidney Care UK, the UK’s leading kidney patient support charity working to improve the quality of life for everyone affected by kidney disease. Following a career in Marketing in the private sector, Paul has spent over 10 years working in national charities with a particular focus on long term health conditions. He has been at Kidney Care UK since 2014, and a member of the Senior Management Team responsible for developing and promoting patient support services, ensuring that the patient voice is at the heart of improvements in health and care services and campaigning for change.
Richard is Consultant Nephrologist and Director of the Renal Unit at Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Chair of the Think Kidneys Programme Board and Co-Chair of the Transforming Participation in Chronic Kidney Disease Programme.
Richard trained at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and the London Hospital Medical College, qualifying in 1985. His early training was in the East London area before he moved into research at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. Richard was appointed a British Heart Foundation Fellow to explore the link between cardiovascular disease, calcium signalling and abnormalities of calcium metabolism in chronic kidney disease. He returned to the Royal London Hospital as lecturer and honorary senior registrar in nephrology, before being appointed as a single handed nephrologist at Derby in 1996.
In 2013 Richard was appointed National Clinical Director for Renal for a three year tenure and has also chaired the Kidney Alliance as well as being President of the British Renal Society. Richard’s special interests are in chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, home dialysis therapies, reducing infection in dialysis patients and vascular access.
Richard describes himself as a ‘gadget geek’ and struggles to manage without technology when he’s camping. Away from work music is important to Richard – he plays guitar (and, we’ve heard tell, the ukulele and that he once played in an Abba tribute band, listens to Genesis. His favourite place to visit is the Larmer Tree Festival. He’s also a keen reader and theatre lover.
There are a few other things it might be useful to know about Richard. He qualified as a marksman for the British Army, nearly fell out of a helicopter over Salisbury Plain, drove a 50 ton tank that had no brakes, and during his time in Cambridge rode a bike only three times, all of which ended in injury! Given you’re a keen marathon runner Richard we’d like to suggest you’re safest on two legs! We’ve also heard he goes to Derby County matches, but isn’t a supporter – just takes his son along…….yeah right……
Rachel is the KQuIP programme lead focusing on quality improvement in the SW region and South London. She actively believes in the principles of KQuIP of transformational change through developing QI capability and investing in leadership across the multi-professional team.
Rachel also believes in co-production and co-design of services with patients, promoting self-management through patient activation and outcomes that are of value to the individual. She was involved in the collaboration between NHSE and the RA in the Transforming Participation in CKD programme.
Rachel has worked at several large renal units and was the matron for renal services in Plymouth for 10 years. Following this she was the nurse director for the Peninsula renal network where she developed a special interest in improving services for young people with kidney problems, linking it to the concept of person centred care. She set up and currently coordinates a national network for professionals interested in young people’s services and how these can be underpinned by person centred care. She was also involved in developing a generic draft service specification for the transition of young people from children to adult services during her time at NHS Improving Quality.
When Rachel isn’t travelling the country meeting renal teams and patients she’s looking after or riding her horse, gardening, trail running, camping on Dartmoor) and reading.
Ron is Director of the UK Renal Registry and has more than 30 years’ experience working in the NHS, starting his career after his degree at Aberystwyth University as a biomedical scientist. Ron then went on to work in the fields of governance and quality improvement with senior roles in these areas including Director of the National Clinical Governance Support Team and Head of Healthcare Quality and Standards within the Department of Health. Ron has lectured and presented on quality improvement across the globe.
When he’s not working, Ron likes spending time with his family and is a bit of a Rugby nut – he coaches an under 16 Rugby team and says ‘it’s the best game in the world’.
