Meet the Team

Stephanie Craig

Forum Chair

PhD student focusing on Dementia, School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast

Stephanie graduated in 2021 with a First-Class Honours degree in Adult Nursing. Stephanie is a new forum committee member starting her role in January 2023. Stephanie is a registered nurse with clinical experience working in the Regional Stroke Unit in Northern Ireland and with older adults with learning disabilities. Stephanie is a PhD student focusing on Dementia at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast. Stephanie has academic experience in the care of older people and is a year 1 teaching assistant for undergraduate nurses.

Stephanie was awarded a prestigious undergraduate research bursary to undertake research to understand the impact of dementia education (only 12 were available across the whole of the UK). Stephanie then worked alongside people with dementia, their caregivers, academic staff, and other nursing students as a team to co-design a game about dementia. This work led to Stephanie being awarded the Nursing Times Student Nurse of the Year: Adult in 2021. Stephanie is passionate about all aspects of older people's care, from acute settings to the community. Stephanie is a keen advocate for older people's care to NQNs and student nurses. Stephanie’s Twitter handle is @stephhcraig and can also be contacted via email here: scraig22@qub.ac.uk.

Gary Mitchell

Reader (Education), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast

Gary is a Reader (Education) at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen's University Belfast and has been a forum committee member since January 2019. He took up the role of chair of the forum in January 2022. Gary is a registered nurse with significant clinical and academic experience in the care of older people. Gary holds the title of QN (Queen's Nurse) and is an editorial board member with BMC Geriatrics, BMC Nursing and the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

He is also a member of the NICE Clinical Guideline Committee for CG103: Delirium: Prevention, Diagnosis and Management. Gary has more than 100 research outputs in the field of older people's nursing and is a current principal investigator on grant projects totalling more than £400,000. He is passionate about all aspects of the care of older people, particularly those older people who receive care in non-hospital settings (e.g., care homes, hospice and the community). Gary's Twitter handle is @GaryMitchellRN and can also be contacted via email here: Gary.Mitchell@qub.ac.uk.

Catherine Cole

Catherine is a registered adult nurse who has gained experience from a wide range of clinical and service improvement roles, in both NHS and military settings.

Qualifying in 2001, she has held posts in Neurosurgery, Critical Care and Primary Care. Most recently whilst working as a Community Matron for Care Homes and an Advanced Nurse Practitioner she has pursued her passion of caring for older adults living with cognitive impairment and multiple co morbidities.

She is an advocate of advance care planning and supported the introduction of the ReSPECT document and a greater understanding of best interest decision making to local residential and nursing homes. In her current role as a Parkinson’s Nurse Specialist, she employs non pharmacological approaches to managing complex symptoms, initiates conversations about deprescribing and works holistically with families to deliver care for patients living with a long - term neurological conditions.

She gained her Masters in Advanced Professional Practice this year, and having recently been appointed to the Older Person’s Forum Steering Committee, she is looking forward to combining elements of recent study and previous experience as a project manager to the role. Her other areas of interest include patient involvement in research and service improvement work, challenging inequalities in service provision and initiatives to support the care home workforce.

Maritess Murdoch

Quality Assurance Nurse (Care Homes and Care Agencies) with North Central London Integrated Care Board

Previously, Maritess worked with the North Central London Training Hub as a Professional Education and Development Nurse and Workforce Modelling Lead for social care.

She has been awarded the title Queen’s Nurse from the Queen’s Nursing Institute, which is a recognition of her commitment to delivering and leading outstanding care in the community.

Maritess completed her Master’s in Science in Global Issues in Gerontology and Ageing at the University of Stirling.

Maritess is an advocate for improving the care, lives, and representation of older people. She has a passion for ensuring that strategies and interventions are designed and delivered with older people at the centre and that there is involvement from families and friends within their communities.

Maritess is originally from the Philippines where she trained as nurse. She has an extensive experience working in the community, both as a District Nurse and a community matron. She is a qualified Specialist Practitioner in District Nursing and trained as a Non-Medical Prescriber.

Sandra Blades

Befriending Coordinator: Age UK Teesside

Sandra is a registered nurse with experience of working with the elderly, end of life and palliative care in care homes and community settings. Sandra is currently working as the Befriending Coordinator for Age UK Teesside and is responsible for befriending services in the Redcar and Cleveland area.

Sandra's interest is in supporting end of life care in care homes through an evidence-based approach across the country. This was the foundation of her Master's study in 2016 when she received a Florence Nightingale Foundation Scholarship to visit and undertake a study of the aged care facilities in Australia.