National Committee Members

MiP’s strategy, management and operations are overseen by our National Committee: 16 member volunteers, elected for two-year terms by the whole membership under the Single Transferable Vote system. The committee comprises:

• Scotland, Wales and London – two seats each
• Northern Ireland and other English regions – one seat each

Chair

Geoff Underwood
South Central & West Commissioning Support Unit
Area represented: South West England
Contact: g.underwood@nhs.net

Geoff is a programme director for the South Central & West Commissioning Support Unit, working on a range of projects with CCGs, NHS England, local authorities and a growing number of provider organisations.

A career general manager, Geoff previously worked for North Bristol NHS Trust, planning the trust’s move to a brand new site, and has recently completed a secondment to University Hospitals Bristol.

Geoff was an MiP link member at North Bristol before joining the National Committee in 2016. He aims to boost MiP’s profile as a national voice for managers and wants to promote positive leadership and management cultures, and encourage managers to speak up when they are working in negative situations. He was elected Chair of MiP's National Committee in January 2022. 

Geoff’s two young children keep him and his wife very busy, but he enjoys cycling and hill walking, and is always reading, listening to or watching something. But, he says, “I spend too much time playing games on my Playstation and not enough time playing my guitar.”

Vice chairs

Clare Bannister
North East Ambulance Service
Area represented: North East England
Contact: clare.bannister@neas.nhs.uk

Since 2020, Clare has worked for the North East Ambulance Service as head of clinical services within the Emergency Operations Centre. With a clinical background in A&E, Clare has worked for the NHS since she started nurse training in 1984. Since 2000, she has worked as a general manager within the acute sector, a CCG and the ambulance service. 

After joining the National Committee in 2018, Clare helped set up MiP’s North Summit and Women’s Network, and was instrumental in establishing the union’s Ambulance Service Managers Network. She works to raise MiP’s profile in the North East and has particular interests in wellbeing, workforce issues and the impact on management models of changes in the provision of NHS services.

With two rugby-playing sons, Clare spends a lot of time pitch-side, bellowing instructions, and enjoys long hikes with her two Labradors in the beautiful Northumberland countryside.

Jayne Thomas
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Area represented: North West England
Contact: jayne.thomas15@nhs.net

Jayne has worked in healthcare for 25 years in a variety of strategic and operational roles at local, regional and national level. She is currently a senior manager for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Jayne joined MIP in 2012 and, following organisational restructuring at her workplace, she became a Link Member the following year. Between 2016 and 2018, Jayne represented MiP members on the FDA Executive Committee, giving her valuable insight into civil service issues and how trade unions function at national level.

“I want to make MIP the union of choice for NHS Managers, by engaging with members to ensure we’re responsive to their needs, and educating non-members about the benefits of joining MIP,” Jayne says. “The current pandemic experience has put unprecedented strain on NHS staff and managers, and brought with it new challenges that we as a trade union are well placed to support.” 

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Committee members

Richard Carthew
NHS Digital
Area represented: London
Contact: Richard.carthew@nhs.net

Richard works as a ‘business architect’ in the enterprise architecture team and describes his job as “making sure that NHS Digital is delivering what it has been commissioned to do”. A natural scientist by background (he has a PhD in palaeontology), Richard was a civil servant before joining the NHS 1991, where he has worked in acute and mental health trusts, and in district and strategic health authorities.

Richard has represented London members on the National Committee since 2016, and is one of four MiP representatives on the FDA’s Executive Committee. His main interests are organisational change, strategic approaches to management and – of course – digitisation.

In his spare time, Richard is an eclipse chaser – he’s seen eight so far – and tries to stay fit through cycling and Alpine mountaineering.

Rita Gupta
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 
Area represented: West Midlands
Contact: rita.gupta@nhs.net

An experienced NHS programme manager, Rita is currently seconded to the West Midlands Combined Authority to work on a programme supporting people with mental health, physical health conditions and disabilities into employment. Previously she worked for Black Country Healthcare on transforming care services for people with a learning disability and/or autism. Rita has an MBA in business and management and has completed the NHS Aspiring Leaders Programme. 

As a National Committee member elected for the first time in 2022, Rita aims to raise the profile of MiP in the workplace and takes a particular interest in tackling racism and inequality. As a member of her local trade union side she also supports staff with work-related issues.

Rita is passionate about working with people to improve wellbeing. She is an active member of the West Midlands Asian Ladies Club, which began in the 1960s as a small social group for the first generation of Indian women in the UK, and now has over 120 members. Rita also loves to keep fit by doing aqua, pilates and walking her five-year-old Blue Staffy.

Divyang Jagiwala
NHS Arden & GEM CCSU
Area represented: East Midlands
Contact: divyang.jagiwala@nhs.net

Divyang works as a senior procurement manager at NHS Arden & Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit, supporting colleagues around the country to commission clinical services, ranging from GP surgeries to cancer screening programmes. In his career encompassing procurement, supply chain operations, marketing and investment, Divyang was a senior manager in various organisations before joining the NHS in 2013. 

Elected to join MiP’s National Committee in 2022, Divyang takes a special interest in promoting racial equality, diversity, and inclusion at senior levels in the NHS. He represents MiP members on the CSU National Partnership Forum and is a key member of the BAME and Alliance Network at Arden and GEM CSU.

Divyang is chair of a local council in Leicestershire, and a board member of business venture incubator programmes at various universities, including Warwick. As well as listening to music, he enjoys delving into subjects like the economic development of local regions.

Steve James
NHS Wales 
Area represented: Wales
Contact: stephen.james@wales.nhs.uk

Steve is the national workforce lead, accountable for the day-to-day running of the 111 National Clinical Support hubs across Wales. He also leads on developing 24/7 hubs for all-age mental health crisis support in Welsh health boards.

Steve is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has a particular interest in employee engagement, role redesign, developing new roles and alternative pathways to reduce hospital admissions. In January 2022, Steve was co-opted by the MiP National Committee to represent members in Wales.

Steve enjoys watching rugby, is a former rugby coach and referee, and a keen walker. Steve is a member of the 41 Club, the association for retired Round Table members, and was recently been elected as the national vice president for Great Britain and Ireland.

​ Louise McMahon
Health and Social Care Board for Northern Ireland
Area represented: Northern Ireland
Contact: Louise.McMahon@hscni.net

Louise McMahon is director of integrated care at the Regional Health and Social Care Board for Northern Ireland based in Belfast. Louise joined the NHS as a graduate management trainee and has worked in a range of senior roles across the health and social care service in Northern Ireland. She also worked for a number of years in Dublin in national and regional commissioning and hospital management roles. She has been a member of MiP's National Committee since 2018.

Louise is a graduate of Queen’s University, Belfast and also holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education, a Diploma in Health Service Management and an MBA from the Open University. Louise has studied at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and was awarded Companionship of the UK Institute of Healthcare Management in 2014.

Prince Obike
NHS Frimley CCG
Area represented: South Central
Contact: princeobike@nhs.net

Prince started his NHS career in Scotland but as has worked in England since 2015. At Frimley CCG, he works on integrating and transforming services and teams to improve the care, treatment and support that people receive from their local health and social care services.

Prince was co-opted onto the MiP National Committee in January 2022. He is also an MiP representative and was previously a UNISON steward. He enjoys supporting members and working to ensure they are respected, treated justly and have a good relationship with their employer. He is strongly committed to the trade union movement and working in partnership with employers to create workplaces where staff can thrive. 

Outside work, Prince is a member of a Scottish charity that supports people with sickle cell and thalassaemia, and he is passionate about lifelong learning, having picked up academic qualifications and credentials from several universities. “My love for knowledge and education has never dimmed from the time I entered primary school,” he says.

Stuart Quinton
NHS England
Area represented: East of England
Contact: stuartquinton@nhs.net

Stuart works for NHS England, managing GP contracts and practices across Suffolk and North East Essex. He works with local CCGs to ensure all patients in the area receive high-quality primary medical services. Apart from spells picking tomatoes and delivering newspapers, Stuart has spent his entire career in the NHS, in various administrative and managerial jobs mainly in primary care support services. He holds a CMI Level 5 Diploma in management and leadership.

A member of the National Committee since 2018, Stuart is also the MiP link member for the Suffolk CCGs and has represented MiP members on several local partnership forums. His particular interests include pay, conditions of service and pensions.

Outside of work, Stuart spends time reading newspapers, walking, quizzing, going to classical music concerts and helping out at his local church.

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Vacancies

• Scotland (two seats)
• Wales (one seat)
• London
• South East Coast (one seat)
• Yorkshire & Humberside (one seat)

If you are interested in standing for the National Committee, or want to know more about the committee’s work, visit our governance page.