Meet the Team

Katy Welsh

Forum Chair

Professional Lead Learning Disability Nurse, Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Katy qualified as a Learning Disability Nurse in 1988 and since then, has held a number of different posts across learning disability services in Devon, including Community Nurse, Acute Liaison Nurse, Primary Care Liaison Nurse, Clinical Team Leader and her current post as Professional Lead Nurse.

Katy’s special interests are in relation to the physical health needs (and health inequalities) of people with learning disabilities. 

Katy is also a Queen’s Nurse and uses her professional networks to raise the profile of learning disability nursing at every opportunity. 

Katy is keen for learning disability nurses to celebrate and share the work they do and has organised several Learning Disability Nursing Forum events both locally and regionally to showcase and share best practice. 

Professor Michael Brown PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons), PGCE, RNLD, RGN, FRCN,PFHEA

Professor Brown is Professor of Nursing and Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University, Belfast.

A Registered Nurse in Learning Disabilities and Registered General Nurse, he was a Consultant Nurse and Clinical Professor in Edinburgh working with adults with intellectually disabled offenders.

An active researcher involving people with intellectual disabilities, he has undertaken a range of studies, and published in the nursing and intellectual disability literature on issues including, health transitions, access to healthcare, liaison nursing models and person-centred care, diabetes and psychological interventions.

He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing.  

Giselle Cope

Practice Development Facilitator, Foundation of Nursing Studies (FoNS)

Since Giselle qualified as a registered nurse in learning disabilities in 2000, her career portfolio has included working in various leadership positions within the NHS and Independent sector. Giselle currently works with individuals and teams within various programmes and bespoke mentorship offered by FoNS across health and social care. She also leads on learning disability nursing.

Giselle is programme director of FoNS' newest programme; The Creating Caring Cultures Fellowship for early career Learning Disability Nurses in England. She feels privileged to be able to empower, enable, and inspire others to put into practice improvements and innovations which can totally transform patient care and experience.

Amy Hodkin

Learning Disability Nurse and Social Worker

Amy Hodkin is a dual qualified Learning Disability Nurse and Social Worker and graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in 2016. She was a student representative for Strengthening the Commitment: The Report of the UK Modernising Learning Disabilities Nursing Review which was a significantly positive experience for her me personally and professionally. She would like student learning disability nurses to be afforded similar opportunities and to ensure they feel seen and heard.

Amy has ADHD and is passionate about supporting others who are also neurodiverse. More recently she has become a parent/carer to two boys who are autistic and have learning disabilities, and would like to extend support to any RCN Members who are in a similar position.

In March 2023, she founded the Younghearts Soul Club and with the support of a team of volunteers ran a free fortnightly youth club for young people in her local area, ensuring that their holistic needs were met. Raising funds for community projects and charities is also something she enjoys and does this in her spare time. She believes it is very important to recognise all learning disability nurses that work within the NHS, the private sector and third sector.

As a trustee for Rationale Arts a charity that makes creative arts accessible for all young people, she is a strong advocate for innovative and inclusive ways of children, young people and adults achieving overall wellbeing and a good quality of life.

Her main background is working within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, where she has worked on inpatient wards, and within the Community Teams (Autism Support Clinic, Core CAMHS, Duty and Learning Disability CAMHS). In 2022 she won the Compassionate Care Award and firmly believes in compassionate leadership and enshrining this is in patient care, the workplace and within the world in general.

Currently, she is on secondment from Sheffield Children’s Hospital by South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and Sheffield Hallam University as the Autism and Learning Disability Nurse Champion. Within this role, she has been focusing on raising awareness around Learning Disability Nursing, attracting people to the profession, supporting students, developing, and maintaining the workforce, co-production, strategic planning, service improvement and innovation.

Sarah Jackson

Learning Disability Nurse

Sarah is a registered Learning Disability Nurse, with a special interest in autism. Sarah began working in NHS learning disability settings in 1999, and since then has carried out a variety of clinical, operational and programme management roles. Throughout this time, Sarah has continued to develop academically: qualifying as a registered Learning Disability Nurse in 2004; a BSc (Hons) in Professional Learning Disability Studies in 2009; and an MSc in Advanced Nursing Practice specialising in Autism in 2011, including Non-Medical Prescribing (V300).  

Whilst completing her MSc, Sarah devised an autism framework of care to help staff improve their understanding of communication, sensory, person centred and positive behavioural approaches. This training was also co-developed and delivered by a Speech and Language Therapist, an Autistic Trainer, and a Behaviour Nurse Therapist. Framework training significantly increased staff knowledge and reduced instances of behaviours which challenged by 82%. As a result, Sarah was nominated and came runner up for the North West Workforce Modernisation Hub Innovation Awards 2011, and was nominated for the Learning Disability Nursing Award at the prestigious Nurse of the Year 2013 awards, and came second in this category.

Between 2014 and 2021 Sarah was employed by NHS England and Improvement’s national learning disability and autism programme.  Her role within the national team began as part of the ‘Improving Lives’ team, assessing whether people who had lived at Winterbourne View were safe, had appropriate treatment and care, and had plans for the future. Sarah went on to co-lead on programmes such as ‘Ask, Listen, Do’, ‘STOMP-STAMP’, the ‘Care, (Education) and Treatment Review’ refresh, and then became the senior programme manager for the NHSEI national autism team.

Currently, Sarah is a Consultant Nurse (Autism) and Associate Director of Nursing within Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust leading a new autism outreach team, and is about to embark on Approved Clinician training part-time at Northumbria University. 

Sarah is currently one of the chairs for the North West Learning Disability Nurse Forum, where she enjoys facilitating topic-based sessions focused on national and regional learning disability policy and guidance, and also networking for student and registered Learning Disability Nurses either living or working in the North West.

In her spare time, Sarah is a Trustee for a local small charity where she organises and runs family events. Sarah also enjoys spending time walking and exploring the countryside with her husband and daughter.   

Dr Lynne Marsh

DN, RNLD, MSc (Intellectual Disability Studies), PGDipTLHE, MA (Teaching and Learning in Higher Education), BSc (Hons), Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)

Lynne is a Registered Nurse in Learning Disabilities, and the first 16 years of her career, she held a variety of clinical Staff Nurse posts supporting children and adults with learning disabilities and their families across a range of residential and community services.

She is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland since 2017. Lynne holds responsibility for education, research and development of the BSc Learning Disabilities Nursing programme in Queen’s University Belfast. Prior to her current post, Lynne was a Lecturer for over 12 years in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at University College Cork, Ireland.

Lynne continues to publish in key academic research journals on research topics including health and wellbeing, fathers and families’ disabilities research, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family carers, and relationships sexuality and friendships with people with intellectual disabilities.

Michelle Parker

Clinical Project Manager, Improving Quality Team NHS England

Michelle’s portfolio in Learning Disability Nursing spans the Independent Sector, the NHS and the CQC. This includes leadership, teaching and regulation. Her current role is within the new Improving Quality Team at NHS England.

In 2013, Michelle was working as a patient engagement lead in secure hospitals and was involved in a number of nationwide projects gaining recognition for her input. She feels the time she spent engaging and promoting patient engagement as the best and most important part of her career. She is passionate about the role of experts by experience and collaboration.

Whilst not working Michelle is an actress and film director which she enjoys immensely.