Cathy Ellingford - Board Chair

Cathy is currently the lead nurse and Director of Care Quality at Ocean Healthcare. She qualified as a nurse in 1984, and has been both a general and paediatric nurse.

She has held various positions, from director and commissioner through to clinical lead. As lead nurse, her role is to work with clients and staff to examine their needs in order to deliver excellence in care, supporting both nurses and clients. Key roles include pastoral care, training and support. She helps nurses with NMC revalidation, maintaining their registration, and striving for excellence.

She looks forward to bringing her skills and experience in governance and care development to the Board, recognising the enormous scale of the task in these challenging times. She enjoyed meeting other Board and branch members at a recent Board and branch development day held at RCN headquarters in Cavendish Square, London, where she found members' passion and diversity inspirational. She is humbled to think that her colleagues and members across the South West voted for her and looks forward to being inclusive of all RCN members, both within and outside of the NHS, and to leading change through leadership, education and support.

Natasha Goswell - Board Vice Chair

Natasha has been a registered nurse for more than 24 years and has a background in cardiac nursing with a specialist interest in quality improvement, quality, safety, governance, workforce and integration. She has held senior roles including Deputy Chief Nurse within provider (acute, integrated acute, community and health and social care) and her current role is in an integrated care board/system as Professional Practice and Workforce Lead.

Natasha has been an RCN member since 2006 and is pleased to take up her role as RCN South West Regional Board member and Vice-Chair of the Board. She is also the RCN South West regional member of the Safe Staffing England Committee. She has a Master's in Advanced Practice and Masters in Healthcare Leadership, and looks forward to bringing her experience, skills and knowledge to the board and the continuously developing agenda within the RCN.

Kirsten Bland

Kirsten is a registered nurse in learning disabilities. Her background includes managing care homes in the private sector before moving to work with in NHS. Within the NHS, Kirsten has experience in working with Continuing Health Care and Children and Young People's Continuing Care. Her current role is Adult Safeguarding Lead. Kirsten is an RCN learning representative and is committed to supporting members to develop as nursing professionals. 

Netty Snelling

Netty Snelling has a plethora of skills and experience in many different settings including community, secondary care, and education, which will support her to execute the principles of this role. She feels that nursing is a fantastic and varied profession that goes beyond health care and has allowed her to make a real difference to the lives of others. In her current role in safeguarding and education she recognises that capturing the voice of nursing staff can only lead to improvement in patient care. 

Stuart Pearson

Stuart Pearson is the Board member for Plymouth. He is a second-year mental health nursing student at the University of Plymouth, and is also a Peer-Assisted Scheme Leader there, supporting and mentoring first-year nursing students. He comes to nursing and the RCN from a 22-year career in the Royal Marines. His current term on the Board will last until 31 December 2028.

Ashleigh Taylor (ex officio: RCN Council member)

Ashleigh Taylor is a member of the Greater Bristol Branch and an independent sector member of the South West Regional Board. Ashleigh qualified in 2003 from the University of Southampton with BN Hons and, discovering a passion for education, achieved a PGCE in further education. Ashleigh’s background is in emergency care, frailty, out of hours, and, more recently, place-based urgent care.

Ashleigh currently works as a senior manager in urgent care for Sirona care & health, the community provider for the BNSSG ICB. He is a qualified advanced nurse practitioner and is currently accrediting under the HEE Advanced Practice portfolio programme. 

Ashleigh is passionate about delivering first-class evidence-based nursing care. He wants to ensure that, where possible, all who wish to can access and join the nursing profession. He believes in supporting all colleagues to develop and grow their careers to become the best they can be. 

Colin Baker (ex-officio: Professional Nursing Committee member)

Colin Baker is an RMN Lead Nurse and Service Manager working in Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust. He has worked in the NHS for more than 30 years and has more than 20 years' experience as a union representative. His clinical speciality is in older people's mental health and dementia and he is the South West representative on the Professional Nursing Committee.

Jane Matthews (ex-officio: Trade Union Committee South West member)

Jane Matthews started her nurse training later in life and has been a nurse since 2010. She is dual-registered as a children’s nurse and a specialist community public health nurse and health visitor (SCPHN/HV) for the under-5s.   

Her experience includes working in primary and secondary care. Patient-centred care is a priority for her and she is a staunch supporter of the RCN's fair pay for nursing and safe staffing campaigns. 

Jane is an active member of the Greater Bristol Branch, having held various positions on the executive committee. 

As an accredited RCN steward and health and safety rep, she is the Health and Safety Officer for the trust's Joint Union Committee. On staff side, Jane was influential in the negotiations for the band 2 to 3 uplift, working collectively with the other union reps within UHBW. Jane was involved in the organisation of the strike action and derogations at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.  

Vicky Brotherton (UK Health and Safety Representatives Committee member)

 Vicky has been a nurse for more than 40 years and an RCN member since 1992. She has worked in the South West since 1982 in health care of the elderly and people with learning disabilities. In 1989 she qualified in ophthalmic nursing, she became an ophthalmology nurse practitioner in 1992, and she has been a senior sister for University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Foundation Trust ophthalmic outpatient department and urgent care since 2005.

Vicky is lead RCN steward and health and safety representative at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust. She is staff side chair and trust lead for Agenda for Change job evaluation. She was an RCN Council member from 2016 to 2018 and was Chair of the RCN South West Board from 2017 to 2018. She was awarded RCN Health and Safety Representative of the Year Award in 2020.

Leonore Newson (UK Stewards Committee member)

Leonore is currently the South West representative on the RCN's UK Stewards Committee. She is also heavily involved in the Plymouth Branch, having held several positions on their branch executive committee in the past. She has also previously represented Plymouth on the RCN South West Board.

Chris Starnes (UK Learning Representatives Committee member)

Chris was the South East's representative on the Learning Representatives Committee and has now been elected to represent the South West having moved to the region. He is an active member of the Cornwall Branch executive committee too, having been elected its treasurer for a year's term starting at the beginning of 2025. He has had a long and varied experience in nursing, from the Armed forces to psychiatric nursing, with extensive experience working in forensics, followed by working on a three-year charity project around dual diagnosis of mental health and substance misuse. He has set up a crisis team and worked as a manager and senior nurse practitioner, mainly working in psychiatric liaison and bed management. He is a Schwartz round facilitator and teaches subjects such as advanced care planning, communications skills, safeguarding adults and children.  

Harry Hayes - UK Students Committee member

Currently a third-year adult and mental health student nurse, Harry has had a range of placement experiences over the last few years including, urological surgical, psychosis rehabilitation, community mental health, acute renal medicine, general practice, and a mental health crisis team.

He is ILS trained and has first-hand experience of the appropriate management of medical emergencies, and the importance of teamwork within these situations, along with the importance of debriefing post-incident.

He spent his elective  placement within an anaesthesiology department during which time he learnt more about appropriate management patients undergoing surgery, including airway management strategies, from basic to advanced, the drugs used during elective and emergency procedures and how to use regional anaesthesia during labour.

As a member of the autistic community, he knows first hand how much harder life can be for those with a disability, while perceiving the benefits of neurological diversity within the profession, such as the unique ability to communicate in a variety of styles to advocate for patient care. He believes more is needed within the profession to create an environment which better understands and accept the needs of neurodiverse nurses.