Our Chair, Debbie Burnicle
I have worked in health and care services in Sunderland for the last 30 odd years and know how important they are to local people and equally how important it is that providers and commissioners understand how people experience the services day to day. I hope to bring these skills and experience to the Board, working with the staff , volunteers and our partners to sustain and continually improve the services for local people.
Our Board
Vice chair, Paul Weddle
I am very interested in local health and social care and ensuring residents of Sunderland are provided the very best in services. I feel we should be offering greater choice. I am really looking forward to working with Healthwatch Sunderland and all stakeholders to make sure everyone has the information needed so they can make informed decisions around care in Sunderland.
Gavin Barr
I am excited to have joined the team at Sunderland Healthwatch. I believe that my I can use my knowledge and experience as a board member and make sure that the views of people with a learning disability and or autism are well represented. I hope that I can help make changes in the way people are supported so that people have good lives and can say what is important to them.
Christine Colley
My close family from great-grandparents to grand-children have always lived in Sunderland. The health and wellbeing of all the residents of Sunderland is of great importance to me. I feel I have the skills to be able to contribute towards providing a better service.
Pauline Scott
I have volunteered with Healthwatch for several years which has been very rewarding. I wanted to take this a step further through becoming a member of the board team, using both my work and volunteering experience to contribute and help ensure that Healthwatch Sunderland achieves its aims and objectives and make a difference to health and social care services in the city.
Ismaaeel Rashid
I am a qualified community and youth worker from the Bangladeshi community with a passion for empowering individuals and creating positive change. I have 6 years’ experience working and became JNC-qualified after graduating from university in 2023. I joined the board of Healthwatch Sunderland, where I am dedicated to advocating for the health and well-being of our community. With a background in community engagement and youth development, I am committed to ensuring that local and young voices are heard and that services meet the needs of all residents."
Co-opted Board members
Emma Anderson
I qualified as an Occupational Therapist 33 years ago and I have dedicated my working life to the city of Sunderland since 1995. I am delighted to have become a co-optee of the Healthwatch Board and I hope to bring my experience of delivering care and support to the people of our city to assist the Board in the great work they do.
Joanne White
I qualified as a Nurse over 20 years ago. I am thrilled to have become a co-optee of the Healthwatch Board, as my passion is to make a difference.
Listening to and learning from local resident's experiences, will assist in prioritising health and social care services across Sunderland.
Past Board papers
We make the papers for our public Board meetings available online. We also publish a summary of what was discussed. Check out our meeting minutes to read more.
If you require documents from previous board meetings, please contact us.