Dr Julia Hempenstall - Event Chair
BSW CCG GP Champion & Primary Care Diabetes Champion for South West CVDR and Diabetes Clinical Network, NHS England and NHS Improvement
Julia is a GP in a rural Wiltshire practice and has a passion for diabetes. Julia has been involved in leading transformation and supporting practices to improve the delivery of their diabetes care across the South West for the last five years.
Dr Julia Platts
National Clinical Lead for Diabetes, Wales and Consultant Diabetologist, Cardiff and Vale UHB
Dr Kieran McCafferty
Consultant Nephrologist, Barts Health NHS Trust
Dr McCafferty is a Consultant Nephrologist At Barts Health and Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London. He has a clinical and research interest in Diabetic Kidney disease. He chairs the London Kidney Network prevention project and is the North Thames NIHR Renal speciality lead.
Neerja Jain
Heath Equalities Programme Manager, Kidney Research UK
Neerja works for Kidney Research UK, a Charity, as Health Equalities Programme Manager. She has led on the evidence based and multi award- winning Peer Educator initiative for over 15 years, training and supporting >160 Peer Educators in raising awareness of kidney health issues and organ donation in their communities across the UK. She has presented and had her work published widely and feels it’s a privilege to be working for this charity.
A trained renal nurse, Neerja previously worked as a Transplant Coordinator and Kidney Ward Sister in Birmingham. Her MSc in healthcare ethics & law addressed specific healthcare needs of the South Asian community. She is currently undertaking a PhD addressing under representation of “at risk” groups in kidney research.
Sarah Newall
Senior Clinical Project Manager, NHS England and NHS Improvement - London
Sarah has 6 years' specialist experience as a diabetes dietitian. She has worked closely with the London Diabetes Clinical Network for number of years and undertook a year's secondment role with the Network in 2019 to develop a diabetes-focused project. She has subsequently joined the Network full time as a Senior Clinical Project Manager for Diabetes.
Chaandni Devgon
Lead PCN (S&C) & Senior GP Clinical Pharmacist, Pharmacist with special interest in Cardio-Renal and Metabolic Medicine and South West London GP Pharmacists Education Forum Lead
Chaandni is Lead & Senior Clinical Pharmacist across PCNs in South West London (SWL) and works as an ACP & IP. She has a special interest in Cardio-Renal & Metabolic Medicine, and in training and education, which she pursues as the SWL GP Pharmacists Education Forum Lead and as a Senior Honorary Lecturer at King’s College London.
Clara Luwe
Renal Podiatrist, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Clara has been with the Swindon Podiatry team for nearly 7 years now, starting in the community as a Band 5 treating high risk ulcers - the motto was generally sink or swim! Since then the team have finally swam upstream to a much better place. Since then Clara has progressed to a Diabetes Lead Podiatrist until just recently as the new Renal Podiatrist.
Oliver Harness
Integrated Diabetes and Hot Foot Coordinator, Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Mr Harness graduated from Cardiff Metropolitan University School of Podiatry. He has also completed PgCert. Podiatry, PgDip. Health Care Leadership, and currently studying MSc. Artificial Intelligence (AI), University of South Wales.
Following employment at Oxford Health NHS FT community service, Mr Harness helped develop the ACP role of Integrated Diabetes Hot Foot Coordinator at Great Western Hospital NHS FT from 2018, and fundamental to one of the highest healing rates of diabetic ulcers in the UK (NDFA audit).
With a keen interest in data development and how AI can positively benefit podiatry, Mr Harness is investigating how healthcare data will enhance service and patient outcomes.
Dr Amrit Sachar
Liaison Psychiatry Consultant, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust & West London NHS Trust
Amrit is a liaison psychiatry consultant in Imperial College Health Care NHS Trust and West London Mental Health Trust and a Health Foundation Generation Q Fellow, having completed a Masters in Leadership of Quality Improvement. Her clinical and strategic work has centred around the mental health aspects of diabetes, renal disease and other long-term conditions, working with Diabetes UK, Kidney Care UK and NHS England to recommend system-level changes. Her other areas of interest are organisational development, health and workforce inequalities and she is currently a Royal College of Psychiatrists Equality Champion working nationally on workforce equality.
