About AphA

Rony has extensive Analytical and Business Intelligence experience, worked with various private and public sector organisations, and over 12 years’ experience within the NHS, he is a Honorary Member of the University of Exeter Medical School.

Rony has been named as the Top 100 Most Influential Data Leader in 2021 (DataIQ), representing the analyst community in this prestigious list.

As the Head of Analytics for NHS England and NHS Improvement, Rony is leading the Data and Analytics team. In previous roles, Rony has worked as the Assistant Director of Information for the Devon STP, led Informatics teams in Acute, Community and Mental Health Trusts to deliver Business Intelligence, Clinical Systems and Application Development services.

Rony has been responsible for delivering innovative analytics solutions, his work includes focusing on co-design, application of advanced methods to deliver insight and intelligence. He has also been at the forefront of the move to data visualisation to provide compelling stories.

Rony have successfully led various transformation and quality improvement programmes working with executives, clinicians and multi-disciplinary staff group at all levels to improve the quality of care and the experience of patients and colleagues.

Alison began working in the health service aged 18, as a Management Accounting Assistant at the East Birmingham Health Authority, and trained as an accountant. In 1992, Alison passed ACCA finals and in the same year moved to what would become University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, initially heading up the team responsible for pricing and costing, but later the role expanded to include the contracting function.

After 16 years at UHB, during which time she completed a Masters degree in Healthcare Management and Policy and had 3 children, in 2008 she moved to the South West, working as a Performance Manager for the South West SHA. A secondment opportunity took her to NHS Devon PCT early in 2010, which became a permanent position. Alison became Head of Contracting and Business Intelligence for NHS Northern, Eastern & Western Devon CCG when it was formed in 2013 and is now the Deputy Director of Contracting. Alison is currently balancing her contracting role with leading the commissioning team in the eastern locality of the CCG on a secondment basis.

Matthew O’Reilly is a Demand and Capacity Senior Manager with specific focus on Community and Mental Health services modelling in the Demand and Capacity Programme (NHS England & NHS Improvement).

Matthew has worked in NHS since 1996 in a variety of roles including Commissioning and Contracting and in Performance, Information and Business Intelligence roles in Community and Mental Health provider organisations prior to his current role. During this time, Matthew has championed developing Community Services data and profile of analytics with this sector.

Matthew is excited to see analytical staff develop and to have the opportunity to be recognised as professionals through the registration process that AphA has established and was delighted to achieve professional registration status in 2019. Matthew also collates the AphA Magazine and always welcomes contributions and content to add to our monthly publication.

I am a senior NHS Information Manager, covering the usual whole gamut of BI, Performance and Planning….as well as being a jobbing analyst! I love the strategic role but I also love to get my teeth in to a bit of analysis, and these days I find myself taking an increasing lead in all things Population Health.

After a very varied start to my working life as an insurance broker, life assurance claims clerk, printed circuit board sales manager, holiday rep and buyer for an engineering firm, I found myself in Yeovil District Hospital where I started my NHS career 28 years ago!! And all because 28 years ago, just knowing what a spreadsheet was put you in good stead! For those oldies out there, here’s some nostalgia (for the youngies, google it!!) Supercalc, Foxpro, db4 (or even db3), Harvard Graphics…..Oh and get this, pen and paper, carbon copy memo pads (email didn’t exist), paper diaries and a desk calculator when you ran out of fingers!

When I left 23 years later having taken voluntary redundancy from my role as Head of Information, I was headhunted by Somerset Partnership, I have since worked in acute, mental health, community and latterly have found myself in CCG land.

My hobbies include eating (not necessarily out, just anywhere), watching Bake Off and Strictly, reading and travel. And I can’t resist the opportunity to design a spreadsheet in my spare time so my entire family has their lives organised in spreadsheets.

Emma’s career in healthcare Informatics spans over 20 years but her passion lies in analytics. As Director of Information & Business Intelligence at The Northern Care Alliance NHS Group, her focus is the development of a data-driven culture, providing insight that supports the ever-changing requirements of a complex healthcare organisation and the improvement of services for patients.

Recently appointed as Director of Professional Development, Emma is committed to professionalising the healthcare analytics and ensuring analysts across the healthcare spectrum are respected for their knowledge and skills and valued as key players in the improvement of healthcare for all.

Julia Wilkins is heading up the Data & Analytics fundtion at the Health Economics Unit.

Julia gained degrees in Biochemistry and Oncology from Liverpool University before joining the pharmaceutical industry in 1991. After fulfilling several NHS liaison roles and gaining a Diploma in Business Management and PRINCE2 Practitioner certification, Julia co-founded the health informatics agency Harvey Walsh Ltd in 2003. The company grew steadily working with over 80 organisations from both the private and public sectors, before the company’s sale in 2012 to Open Heath Ltd. In 2017, following 5 years with Open Health, Julia joined Imperial College Health Partners as the head of data and analytics.

Having specialist expertise in healthcare data sets and the software application for visualisation and machine learning, Julia is focused on the adoption and spread of innovation working with NHS England, NHS Rightcare, NHS Improvement, NHS Trusts nationally and commercial companies.

Following a Management Sciences degree, Andrew began his NHS career as a Financial Management Trainee qualifying as a CIPFA accountant in 1996. This gave him an early appreciation of the part professionalisation can play in setting standards and helping build communities of practice.

He has undertaken a variety of NHS planning, analytical and performance roles across both planning and provider organisations, where he has been both a source and customer for reporting and analytics. He now leads two teams of analysts within Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust providing a range of support across planning, quality and improvement activities.

Building capacity and capability is something he is very keen on, both his own and supporting colleagues. He has undertaken further studies in public health and systems thinking in practice. He is a QSIR associate and developed an MSC module in Measurement and Analysis of Improvement.  He also shares a weekly message on all things data, analysis, improvement and beyond and can be found on Twitter at @AndrewBarraclo1.

As one of the first APHA registered analysts, he is keen to support the continued development of healthcare analysts through his recent appointment as Director of Skills Development.

Following a PhD in Chemistry, Sarah joined the Government Operational Research Service (GORS) and held a range of analytical and research positions both at the Department of Health and in the NHS. In 2015 Sarah established and led a Data Science Unit within the Department of Health.

Following a stint in Data Policy in NHS England, in summer 2019 Sarah was moved into the newly established NHSX, where she established and now leads the NHSX analytics unit with focus on:

Openly publishing results and data, building wider communities of practice, analytics support for NHSX programmes and missions, innovative analytics and data science, developing the analytical profession in health and care.

Experienced Analytics Manager with a history of working in the healthcare sector. These organisation include Acute NHS Hospitals, Arms Length Bodies, the Private Sector and Healthcare Think Tanks. Skilled in healthcare data analysis and Data Science techniques, these include predictive methods such as demand forecasting using both univariate and multivaritate methods, Machine Learning and Discrete Event Simulation modelling.

Bed capacity modelling using simulation techniques is a specialty I have developed over the last 12 years.

Software used includes R and Simul8 and Jaamsim. Graduate of the School of Computing and Management Sciences Sheffield Hallam University.

Paul has worked in the NHS since 1995 and has held a variety of national and regional roles during his career. Initially working in Scotland he was the Head of the Scottish Cancer Therapy Network, conducting phase 3 clinical trials in oncology on a national and international basis, before moving on to lead the Drugs Misuse Information Strategy Team.

After heading south Paul has worked extensively at a strategic level within Strategic Health Authorities and latterly the NHS Trust Development Authority and now NHS Improvement. Paul is currently leading the national programme for Demand and Capacity Planning Training, chairs Fed-IP and is an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Exeter.

Paul has long been an advocate for improving the career prospects for information analysts and retains the ambition to see NHS information analysts recognised as a professional group in their own right.

I am Director of PenCHORD, a team of researchers within PenCLAHRC which has been effective in
developing a range of applied models of healthcare collaborating directly with health organisations to
improve services in the south-west.

My main interest is the effective implementation of modelling, simulation and analytic solutions to
inform health policy and the evaluation of its impact.

A particular focus is the communication of information and visualisation techniques to facilitate
understanding across organisational and cultural boundaries. In 2004 I helped establish MASHnet
which aims to promote closer co-operation between professionals in health, research and
commercial communities to improve the application of healthcare modelling.

Andi is a Health Economist and the Director of the Health Economics Unit, an NHS organization that supports health & care organisations locally, regionally and nationally, providing expertise in economics, population health, analytics & evaluations.

Andi is particularly interested in population health analytics especially how to best address health inequalities and the concept of impactibility modelling and is researching this for his PhD at Imperial College London.

Andi is also a Senior Advisor for NHS England on Population Health Management in the Data and Analytics Directorate working with and advising STPs and ICSs across the country.

Zoë has worked in health and social care analysis for nearly 10 years as and is particularly interested in issues around equality. As the Non-Executive Board Member for AphA she will be leading on this and is always interested in learning more about people’s experiences and views on this.

She is also a very active member of the NHS-R Community and can often be found on their Slack group nhsrcommunity.slack.com, as well as on Twitter at @Letxuga007