HealthGIS

Adam Burke

Adam Joined SCW in 2022 as the Associate Head of Geospatial Services, swapping his knowledge of GIS for the natural the environment to the health sector. With a passion for Geography, Adam studied Physical Geography at Aberystwyth University, followed by an MSc in GIS and Remote Sensing. After graduating in 2010 Adam started his career working in GIS within the public sector, firstly as a GIS technician, GIS Officer and then the Geospatial lead at Natural Resources Wales.

Adam is a geospatial leader with experience in strategy, running large scale multidisciplinary projects and team along with a keen interest in project management and continue improvement. Adam is a Chartered Geographer (GIS), Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and a Certified Data Management Professional (DAMA CDMP Associate).

A keen advocate for promoting the use of geospatial spatial data, Adam is the current chair of the Association for Geographic Information, where he and team are working to lead, connect and develop a community of members who use and benefit from geographic information.

Outside of work Adam enjoys the outdoors and can often be found roaming the Brecon Beacons National Park at weekends.

Josie Vos

Josie joined the South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit in February 2020 as a GIS and Mapping Analyst. She graduated from the University of Bristol in 2018 with a first class degree in BSc Geography where she first encountered GIS. A year abroad at the University of Washington enabled Josie to undertake further study in her areas of academic interest - global health, epidemiology and mapping. Skills developed in these areas cumulated in Josie’s final research project: a mixed-method multilevel analysis of adult obesity prevalence across the UK.

Following university, Josie joined the NHS Patient Services Team for a GP Practice where she gained valuable experience in the operation of healthcare environments and the delivery of patient care. Josie is excited to further develop her GIS skills and expertise in her new position with SWCCSU.

In her free time Josie is a keen artist, she also enjoys travel to warmer climates, going to the gym, dog-walking and horse-riding whenever possible!

Robbie Robinson

Robbie joined SCW in July 2019 as a BI Analyst working within Consultancy & Solutions. Robbie is currently working with the GIS team to gain experience within all areas of the business.

He is currently on his placement year from the University of Plymouth studying BSc Business Economics. Robbie would like to gain knowledge in health economics and has a strong interest in financial economics. Through his placement he is looking to build on his critical thinking, GIS and analysis skills; which he can take back to complete his final year in 2020/21.

In his spare time he enjoys to DJ and has regular gigs across the UK and Europe. In addition he enjoys travelling and exploring new cultures.

Cliff Mwando

Cliff has professional experience in GIS, related spatial technologies and services spanning over 20 years. Before his current role within the NHS, he has worked in a range of sectors including local government, university education, environmental consultancy and non-government organisations.

He has provided geospatial leadership in several GIS roles and projects covering business analysis, requirements gathering and specification, solution architecture design and implementation, spatial data specification and modelling.

Cliff enjoys the outdoors, countryside walks. He is quite bad at music and drama, but you still find him around male voices choirs and amateur theatre societies.

Trevor Foster

Trevor has over 40 years’ experience as a cartographer and GIS specialist. His career started in the Army as a Royal Engineers cartographer where he was involved in all aspects of cartographic map production. These many and varied tasks involved such areas as mapping The Falkland Islands in 1982, liaison with Ordnance Survey in the production of UK Military Training Areas maps, and management of senior staff operational charts for the Gulf War in 1990. After leaving The Army in 1993, Trevor worked with Intergraph UK Ltd for 2 years as a GIS developer.

Trevor is the founder of the SCW Geospatial Service having started out as a lone GIS Analyst with Avon Health Authority in 1995 and over the next 26 years developed the team and service to where it is now. Recently in 2022, he retired from the role of Associate Director and now works part-time in the role of Geospatial Consultant providing advice and support to the team.

Trevor was awarded the runner-up prize in the international Meridian Awards in 2010 for his work around Planning for Pandemic Swine Flu and was presented with his prize at the Insights Conference in Miami, Florida.

Trevor led the development of SCW’s original on-line mapping portal, HealthGIS, a web-based interactive mapping tool for end users, and this has now been superseded by the new Esri ArcGIS Enterprise system we see today.

In his spare time, Trevor is a keen squash, racketball and golf player.

Clare Scarborough

Clare joined South, Central and West Comissioning Support Unit in April 2019 as a GIS and Mapping Analyst. She graduated from Bournemouth University with a first class in BSc Geography, where her keen interest in GIS developed, using GIS to support her final research project to analyse renewable energy opinions utilising demographic data.

Clare was brought up in rural Dorset and is now enjoying living and working in Bristol. Outside of work, she enjoys lots of sports including swimming, cycling, running and ultimate frisbee!

Roisin McDermott

Roisin joined the South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit in September 2019 as a GIS and Mapping Analyst. She first started using GIS in her undergraduate degree whilst analysing demographic and deprivation datasets as part of her BSc Human Geography degree from the University of Reading.

Following this she joined the Housing Enabling Team at Mendip District Council. During her three years at Mendip she assisted the Planning Policy Team with GIS based strategic land assessments, which encouraged her to formally develop her GIS skillset and undertake a Postgraduate programme. She has recently completed her Postgraduate Diploma in GeoInformation Technology and Cartography at the University of Glasgow, with a Distinction.

In her free time Roisin enjoys being active and outdoors, horse riding or walking in the Somerset countryside. She is a keen hillwalker and successfully completed the Three Peaks Challenge in August 2018, raising funds for the charity Mind UK and local hospice care.

Brendan Stone

Brendan has a BSc in Geographic Information Systems from Bath Spa University. After leaving university Brendan worked in local government for 3 years as a GIS Technician dealing with a variety of GIS and mapping related tasks. This role included development and maintenance of public and internal web based GIS systems, training and support for several GIS systems, bespoke GIS tool development, database management, data capture and surveying.

Brendan joined SCW in February 2013 as a Senior GIS Analyst before taking on the role of GIS Team Leader in November 2014. Since joining the health service, Brendan has been involved in a range of analytical projects. He has also been the GIS technical lead in the upgrade of HealthGIS Maps and GP Finder, streamlining of map production methods and management of OS OpenData and Census 2011 datasets.

Brendan's GIS skills include MapInfo Professional, MapBasic, FME, Cadcorp SIS and GeognoSIS, SQL Server, PostGIS, MapServer, OpenLayers, Leaflet, Google Maps API, HTML / JavaScript / CSS, aerial photography, data capture and management.

Kathryn Wright

Kathryn began her career as a Meteorological Observer in the Royal Navy and then spent 20 years working as a Scientific Officer in Agricultural Research. She joined the NHS as a Data Manager in the Clinical Trials Unit at United Bristol Healthcare Trust before moving to Avon IM&T Consortium as an Information Analyst in 2006.

Kathryn took the opportunity of an internal transfer to the GIS Team and now has several years experience as a GIS and Mapping Analyst. She has been involved in a wide range of projects, including Emergency Planning, Injury Prevention and Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment, and leads on work around Pharmacy Applications, GP contractual maps and Targets Monitoring.

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Jurong Zheng

Jurong joined NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (formerly Avon IM&T Consortium) in February 2010 as a commissioning Information Analyst, after 13 years working as a research fellow in the School of Management at University of Bath following her PhD (Reading) and MBA (London). She worked on a wide range of projects on inter-organisational information management in particularly with the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and local authorities.

In her 2 year Commissioning Information Analysis role, Jurong has carried out a range of projects including complex data analysis and A&E data quality work. In addition, she was responsible for delivering statutory returns and reports for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCGs.

In April 2012, she joined the GIS Team as a GIS and Primary Care analyst. Since then, she has successfully completed MapInfo Advanced level training. Jurong has been involved in a wide range of GIS projects, including Pharmacy Application, Performance Monitoring, as well ad hoc work such as Somerset GP Out of Hours, emergency admissions and BBC Children in Need. In addition, she is responsible for primary care data analysis for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCGs. Her technical skills include Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, SQL and MapInfo.

Will Jones

Will joined the SCWCSU in February 2019 as a GIS and Mapping Analyst. His love of maps started at a young age and throughout school developed his map reading abilities taking part in orienteering before being selected to join the South West Orienteering Squad. He first discovered GIS during his undergraduate degree at the University of Southampton and completed his GIS-based dissertation using site location analysis to find new sites for solar and wind farms in Tenerife and testing to see if the island can be run solely renewable energy.

Prior to joining the SCWCSU he was working with the High Weald AONB unit, using GIS to support multiple projects to help conserve and enhance the area of outstanding natural beauty, playing an important role in the production of its 5 yearly management plan.

In his spare time, he will be found outside enjoying the outdoors by bike or on foot. He is a keen triathlete in which he aims to complete an ironman in the coming years. He is also regularly found at Ashton Gate supporting his team, Bristol City.

Rich Sanders

Rich joined the team in March 2016 as GIS and Primary Care Analyst. He was awarded an MSc in Applied GIS from the University of the West of England in 2015. While working towards it, he won a prize for an atlas of maps and infographics of Tintin's adventures and completed a final year project looking at Location Analytics- the study of where best to place services and assets.

His previous mapping experience includes 13 years working in the GIS team at sustainable travel charity Sustrans, where he recorded the company's extensive land holdings, worked toward the planning and maintenance of cycle routes and produced maps, statistics and graphics. He also worked with in-house cartographers Four Point Mapping, producing cycle route maps for guide books and leaflets. He has extensive experience of using maps in the field while researching new routes with Rough Ride Guides.

Relevant to the health sector, Rich has a BSc in Biological Sciences and has worked for Public Health England and in the pharmaceutical industry. His skills include mapping and analysis (using ArcGIS, MapInfo, MapBasic, Quantum GIS, Carto DB, FME, MS Office, SQL, and CSS) and cartography and design with Inkscape, MaPublisher and Freehand.

Family life is keeping Rich busy at the moment, but in his spare time he loves to ride and maintain bikes and organise cycle-in cinema events. He used to get decent results in mountain bike and cyclocross races, but that's starting to feel like a long time ago now!

Matt Bridges

Matt joined SCWCSU in November 2017 as Senior GIS and Primary Care Analyst. Before this he worked for 9 years as GIS officer at sustainable transport charity Sustrans with responsibility for data sourcing and management, GIS analysis and maintaining an intranet GIS. His previous GIS experience included working for 5 years at an environmental planning consultancy where he was involved in preparing maps and analysis for socio-economic reports, landscape character assessments and environmental impact assessment reports for proposed windfarm developments.

Matt is pretty busy with family life but when he gets the chance he'll be found biking or running and eating peanut-butter based snacks.

Ian Maxfield

Ian has over 15 years professional experience in the field of Geography and GIS. Prior to the role of GI & Mapping Manager within the NHS, he spent nine years at the renewable energy company Ecotricity, managing their GIS team and developing renewable energy projects through the use of GIS. He also worked in the public sector prior to this: two years with the NHS (Avon IM&T Consortium) and a further two years at a local health authority, both as a GIS specialist.

In addition to the role as a Geographic Intelligence manager, Ian is a Chartered Geographer and uses this role to push the development of GIS and Geography to students. He undertakes lectures to a number of universities each year in both the areas of GIS and Renewable Energy. Much of this motivation stems through a previous career as a Geography teacher at Secondary level, where he taught at schools in London, Gloucestershire and the Middle East.

In his spare time Ian likes to go climbing and also to take part in a biking sportives and triathlons. His aim is to undertake an Ironman one day, though a busy family life, has to date, put that on hold.

Graham Ainsworth

Graham joined the team in November 2016 as a Senior GI & Mapping Analyst having already worked within the NHS for nearly two decades. He graduated from The University of Chichester in 1997 with a BA (Hons) degree in Geography. He has provided a GIS service using MapInfo for Sussex, Surrey and Kent for well over 10 years, whilst in his previous role as a Senior Information Analyst for South East CSU and Sussex Health Informatics Service.

Graham started off as a Waiting List Information Analyst for West Sussex Health Authority, collating data from NHS Trusts and providing monthly statutory returns but it wasn't long before he got the opportunity to move into GIS. Over the years, he has been involved in a variety of projects ranging from ambulance response times in West Sussex to pharmaceutical needs assessments. He has also gained vast experience using data, whether it is related to the NHS, Census or Ordnance Survey giving him the knowledge to help customers get the best out of a map.

Graham was brought up in West Sussex and now lives in Steyning, about 10 miles from Brighton with his wife, Mandy, and 2 children, Luke (born in 2001) and Zoe (born in 2005). He enjoys socialising with friends, watching sport, travelling, but, most of all, spending time with his family.

Doug Bell

Doug joined the SCWCSU in May 2021 as a GIS Analyst. After graduating with a degree in Physical Geography from the University of Aberdeen in 1991, he then worked extensively in higher education reporting on student application trends, analysing data on under-represented demographic groups and conducting market research into new courses. Wanting a career change, Doug returned to study at the University of Leeds, completing his MSc in GIS shortly before starting work with the SCWCSU. His dissertation won the Society for Location Analysis Postgraduate Student Dissertation prize in 2020 and involved using GIS to create an open-source demographics-based composite indicator that mapped disadvantage in accessing higher education.

Outside of work, Doug is a keen cyclist and watcher of professional bike races. He is also a lifelong science fiction fan, occasionally makes music and loves travelling.

Christy Spring

Christy joined the South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit in October 2021 as a GIS Analyst. She first gained experience in GIS and spatial modelling whilst studying for a BSc in Geography at the University of Bristol, where she graduated in 2020 with a first-class degree. Throughout her undergraduate degree, she developed a keen interest in health geography, where she conducted nationally award-winning research for her undergraduate dissertation, which modelled a breakthrough association between air pollution and Alzheimer's disease in South West England.

Following her undergraduate degree, Christy has since completed an MSc in Public Health at the University of Bristol, where she extended her skills and knowledge in epidemiology, health and social care environments, commissioning, and policy. Her master's thesis, which used mapping and logistic regression to analyse naloxone carriage and access among people who inject drugs in the UK, was selected for presentation at the 30th Conference of the European Society for Social Drug Research (ESSD) and has since been put forward for publication.

Christy was brought up in London and now lives in Bristol, where she enjoys trying out its restaurants, cafes and bars. In her free time, Christy enjoys cooking, drawing and is a keen ceramicist.

Kirsty Thomson

Kirsty joined South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit as an intern in July 2021, and transitioned to a role as a Geospatial Analyst in October 2021. She graduated from the University of East Anglia with a BSc degree in Geography with a Year in Industry, where she spent her placement year working at a field studies centre. She was first introduced to GIS at university, where she took part in a project analysing whether the people of Norwich have sufficient access to local greenspaces.

Kirsty grew up mostly in Scotland, but also spent a few years living in Texas. She now lives in Hampshire. In her free time, Kirsty enjoys swimming, hiking, paddlesports, and generally being outdoors.

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Cerys Butterill

Cerys joined South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit in July 2022 as a Geospatial Analyst. Her interest in GIS developed through her time at Edge Hill University, where she graduated in 2022 with a first-class degree in BSc Geography. Throughout her undergraduate degree she focused her studies on using GIS and remote sensing techniques to study environmental problems, such as in her dissertation, where she used satellite imagery to identify areas of encroachment into national parks by oil palm plantations in Malaysian Borneo.

Her keen interest in GIS lead her to be part of a team of EMODnet interns studying pan-European coastal vulnerability, where her role was to create a new, common coastal vulnerability legend. She then went on to present this work at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna in May 2022.

Outside of work, Cerys enjoys reading, photography, travelling, and playing board games with her very competitive family.

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Aarran Orsi

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