Our People

Fiona's current position is working at HS2 as Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing, where she is pioneering different health strategies.

My OH career has been varied, undertaking both clinical and managerial roles within a range of public and private sector organisations – I was one of the first nurses to be appointed as a nurse consultant in OH, and took the lead role on workplace health for NHS England. In 2014 Organisational Wellbeing Ltd. was incorporated and since this time I have worked independently – providing OH consultancy services. Expanding the role, remit, and potential reach of OH into organisations has not been without challenge but as a professional group we face constant organisational change and expectation of our input and value. It is this area particularly that I hope to drive interest– developing our ‘brand’ and our unique selling point. The FOHN aims to guide all members toward new and exciting development opportunities that will enable leadership that can drive and create the USP required for the future OHN role.

Diane Romano-Woodward became interested in OH in the mid1980s when acting as a Safety Representative for the Royal College of Nursing.

Christina has experience of OH management at UK and international level in a variety of organisations.

JW is a former CEO of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine and has experience of setting up a charity and chairing two boards of trustees.

Elisabeth was originally an A&E sister before moving into OH to work as the Store Sister at Debenhams, Oxford Street.

I am a retired OH Nurse Consultant with over 40 years experience in Occupational health nursing in various organisations. This includes Heavy industry, Food industry, NHS. Local Government. Rail Industry and as a Self employed OH Consultant.

I have also taught the specialty at the RCN, where I set up the OHNC course in Birmingham in the early 1980’s. In 1999, I developed an OH Diploma course at the University of Warwick, which I managed until 2008.

In 1996 I was appointed as the first nurse onto the Health & Safety Commission, which I held for 2 years. I have also represented OH Nurses as a Board Member on the ENB in the 1980’s.

In April 2008 I was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing (FRCN) and in June the same year I was honoured with an OBE in the Queens Birthday Honours for my “exceptional contribution to OH Nursing”.

Allison qualified as a Registered nurse in 1984 and worked in a major accident unit for two years. She began her Occupational Health career in 1986 at Macclesfield Hospitals. She suggests that if you can advise on personal health and workplace issues with NHS staff, you can provide the service to anyone!
After a short stint as a Regional nurse at the BBC in Manchester, she went on to work for The National Grid as one of 5 Regional Nursing Advisors and 2 OHP’s. In this role Allison contributed significantly to a change of OH provision, from a treatment based reactive service to a more pro-active provision.
Four years later she began work for British Rail, in Manchester, joining the OH team as a Senior Advisor just as the National Drug and Alcohol policy was implemented across the whole of the Rail industry. Allison was the first point of OH contact for those employees in the region who had suffered a traumatic incident. She was instrumental in introducing Specialists from the mental health field who provided EMDR therapy for trauma. As a direct result, a significant number of employees were return to work sooner and less employees were dismissed on the grounds of ill health.
Following a short stint at Cargill PLC, setting up a nurse led service, Allison set up her own successful OH company which continues to provide a National OH service. During this time, she also took on the role of Secretary to the North West OH Group, Formally Greater Manchester OH Group. Allison is very passionate about OH and promoting its values both within and outside the profession. Allison is keen that all nurses in OH have a professional support network they can rely on to benchmark professional standards. She worked collaboratively with other Board members to provide study days, annual conferences and encouraged members to apply for educational bursaries to ensure they met professional standards for PREP and their own practise.
Allison is now a Board member of The FOHN, taking on the role of Communication and Marketing. She works closely with the rest of the board members including nurse education and legal support/advice. Allison hopes that in time all OH nurses and those new to the specialty will consider The FOHN as the ‘one stop shop’ for all things Occupational Health.
In her spare time Allison enjoys the gym, cycling and socialising with friends, she is also Vice Chair at an Academy High School.

Fiona's current position is working at HS2 as Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing, where she is pioneering different health strategies.

Joanna Elliot is the Chief Nursing Adviser, Lead practitioner and OH manager in Health and Social Care, Justice and the communications industry.

Andrew is an independent Management Consultant specialising in Occupational Health. He commenced his working life in management roles for a leading FTSE 100 retailer, including HR, Customer Service, Sales and General Management. He moved into an NHS OH business management role in 1997, leading and developing a large team of OH professionals. In 2008 Andrew joined NHS Plus as Operations Director, a Department of Health project aimed at improving the quality of NHS occupational health provision.

Andrew was a founding director of Syngentis in 2012, an occupational health community interest company and later became Executive Director of the business. Andrew is now self-employed with a portfolio of key clients – he is the Network Manager for the NHS Health at Work Network and a Lead SEQOHS Assessor for the Faculty of Occupational Medicine. Andrew joined the FOHN as Governance Director in the summer of 2019.

Lyndsey has worked as an independent nurse practitioner since 2007 and established her own company, Phoenix Occupational Health in 2011.

Wendy is a researcher, occupational health specialist and chartered ergonomist. She started her OH career in the water industry in 1989, completing her OH qualification at Nottingham Trent University. After roles in the NHS and British Gas research she led the OH service at Loughborough University for over ten years before studying for a PhD there. Her current research is mostly in the construction sector, working with universities and directly with the industry.