The Team

Trustees

Chair of Trustees- Christopher Wakefield

Chris is a management professional and worked as a hospital manager for a number of years. He has been involved in charitable work for the last 25 years and has set up three charities, two as Chair. Chris was a Bournemouth Councillor for 12 years, working in the ward of Boscombe West. Chris has been involved with the HealthBus since 2017 and is passionate about supporting the homeless.

Vice-Chair / Treasurer – Gareth Sherwood

Gareth is the Chief Executive of Bournemouth YMCA.  He is passionate about transforming people, families and communities through compassion, hope and vision.  He has 15 years of experience in bringing together businesses, volunteer groups, local government, faith groups and charities for community-wide collaborative work in a whole range of areas.  These include youth work, children’s work, housing, family support work, education and training, domiciliary care, refugee support and international aid to name a few.  He is a family man with 2 children, a qualified medical doctor with 8 years of clinical experience, has further studies in medical ethics and law and is an ordained minister.

Treasurer – Darren Slade

Darren Slade is a copywriter and former journalist. He spent more than 30 years in regional news, latterly as business editor for the Daily Echo in Bournemouth and its sister titles in Southampton and Weymouth. He is a former president of Dorset Speakers Club and has appeared at a Downing Street press conference, Sky News and a number of podcasts. He is now a content manager with the accounting software business IPLICIT. As a Poole father of two who has worked in Bournemouth for many years, he is keen for the conurbation to be a place where everyone is safe and secure.

Secretary- Myka Wilshire

Myka became a member of our team in July 2023. She brings with her extensive expertise in the homelessness sector, having led a rough sleeper outreach team through the challenges of the pandemic. Myka also spearheaded the implementation of a highly effective outreach service for homeless individuals struggling with substance misuse, ensuring that treatment reaches them wherever they may be. Her passion for addressing homelessness is deeply personal, as she shares experiences common to many we serve. These experiences led to severe physical health challenges, as Myka, like many of our patients, faced difficulties in accessing primary healthcare services. Nonetheless, Myka has triumphed over these obstacles and is now wholeheartedly committed to empowering others to access the support they need, enabling the choice to positively impact their lives.

Sam Acton

Sam is a serial entrepreneur specialising in disruptive growth and expansion models. Sam is keen to share her wealth of business experience for the greater good and joins HealthBus at its juncture to growth. As an Independent member of the BCP Council Audit & Governance Committee and lead for the MPHERoes/Savvitas expansion project on behalf of the House of Lords, Sam brings much experience in local and national government, understanding of compliance and the complexities of engaging with multiple agencies for success.

GP – Dr Luke Turley

After completing junior doctor jobs in Poole Hospital in 2007, Dr Luke embarked on an unusual GP career, leaving regular NHS practice and instead choosing to work with marginalised sectors of society such as prisoners, asylum seekers and victims of torture, both in the U.K. and the developing world. He spends much of his time working in isolated and remote parts of the world, from running an emergency department in the Outer Hebrides to teaching life support in villages in Sierra Leone.

Sara Turner

Sara joined the HealthBus in July 2023. She has 15 years’ experience of working in housing and homelessness and has delivered a variety of services including a womens refuge, a young mother and baby unit and mental health supported accommodation. Sara has previously been a CQC registered manager responsible for delivering high quality care in a residential setting. Sara is passionate about involving and including people with lived experience. Sara believes they provide a powerful and authentic voice. People with lived experience have genuine insights that can challenge assumptions, motivate services to do things differently and influence change. Sara strongly believes that services should be co-produced by those who access them.

Operations & Clinical Team

Executive Director – Deano Pickering

Deano joined the HealthBus team in October 2019, with over 22 years of professional practice across the charity, creative and educational sectors as a development and strategic manager. Deano is passionate about educating others about the unmet needs of those that are most vulnerable, whilst supporting marginalised groups with a ‘voice’. He implements and oversees the HealthBus fundraising and marketing campaigns in accordance to the Trust’s Strategic Plan. He also has responsibility for charity compliance, finance, branding and IT. Deano is also committed to creative design and works with the team to ensure a unified branding approach is applied to all of HealthBus’s public content.

Business Relations Manager – Tim Partridge

Tim has over 30 years of experience and expertise in business commerce, having held various roles in different organisations. Since December 2023, he has served as the Volunteer and Church Partnership Coordinator at YMCA Bournemouth. Prior to this, he was the Regional Coordinator Southwest for Remap, where he supported local panel chairs and developed volunteer-led projects. His previous positions include managing volunteer programs for Alabare Christian Care and Support, Operation Mobilisation, and the Trussell Trust. Having volunteered at Poole Foodbank, Tim now supports the RNLI as a user experience tester. Throughout his career, Tim has demonstrated a strong ability to build and maintain networks, engage with various stakeholders, and lead large-scale projects. He is committed to helping others overcome personal struggles and barriers.

Operations Director & CQC Manager – Kate Hibbitt

Kate Hibbitt joined the HealthBus Team in 2018 and is the Operations Director & CQC Registered Manager for the Trust. She brings a wealth of experience and skills to her role at the HealthBus, having previously worked in both charitable and commercial sectors. Kate is passionate about providing accessible, high-quality, patient-centred healthcare for people experiencing homelessness. Using an innovative approach, she has focused on clinical delivery and strategic management through strong partnerships with multidisciplinary teams and non-statutory organisations. Over the past five years, she has grown the organisation from small beginnings to a strong and respected charity within the local community. The HealthBus is now gaining national interest and recognition with its unique service delivery alongside securing CQC registration. For Kate, reducing health inequalities, removing barriers and advocating for those with little voice drives her ambitions for the HealthBus Trust and the patients it seeks to serve.

Medical Director – Dr Maggie Kirk

Dr Maggie Kirk has worked for over 20 years as a GP with a special interest in homelessness and addictions. Since 2003 she has enjoyed being part of the Crescent Providence Surgery, Boscombe, in an area of high deprivation. Seeing how hard it is for people to engage with traditional health services whilst homeless, has led to Dr Kirk launching the HealthBus in 2016. She has subsequently pioneered the development of hospital homeless care teams in Bournemouth and Poole. The HealthBus team have encouraged a hub and spoke style approach to care with multiple public, private and third sector teams united by their desire to see an end to health inequalities. Dr Kirk’s vision of accessible and appropriate healthcare for people experiencing homelessness has been recognised as a transferable model with the potential to improve care for other marginalised groups.

HealthBus GP – Dr Sarah Williams

Dr Sarah Williams has been a GP since 2016 and works at Ringwood Medical Centre as a salaried GP.  With a particular interest in mental health, she joined the HealthBus Team in October 2021. Sarah will be out and about in the mobile clinic seeing patients in different locations around Bournemouth. She is eager to address the health inequalities often faced by people experiencing street homelessness, or living in temporary accommodation.

HealthBus GP – Dr Mohammad Tamimi

With over 5 years of experience in Hospital Medicine, Dr Tamimi set off to pursue GP training which he started in 2019. He began as a volunteer at the HealthBus in early 2020, before he took on a ‘Health Equity’ clinical fellowship being piloted by his training organisation in the region. The fellowship will pave the way for many more GP trainees to join our team in the future. Dr Tamimi believes in empowering his patients and allowing individuals living with chronic illness to regain control of their lives and wellbeing. During his free time, he takes the opportunity to provide patient education sessions at the YMCA.

Engagement & Enhancement Outreach Nurse – Chrissie Croucher

Chrissie has over 30 years of experience in nursing working in hospitals and community-based settings with those battling addictions and homelessness. Chrissie’s experience has allowed her to work with multiple services across BCP allowing her to bring healthcare to those in need professionally. Chrissie joined the HealthBus in 2021 as the Engagement and Enhancement Outreach Nurse and is passionate about caring for marginalised individuals, breaking down some barriers that stop people from accessing healthcare. Alongside her clinical responsibilities, Chrissie also leads the outreach work to bring support to those who need it most.

Practice Outreach Nurse – Carole Lucas

Carole has worked for the NHS for over 35 years starting out in a local private hospital and then moving on to learning disabilities secure unit with severely challenging behaviour as a healthcare assistant. Carole has 20 years of experience in hospital emergency departments where she qualified as a nurse and then as a Sister. Whilst working in the hospital her passion for the most vulnerable in society grew which enabled her to become the homeless lead in the emergency department. Now she is developing her healthcare passion and undertaking her journey as a Trainee Advanced Nurse Practitioner in a local GP surgery and currently studying at university. Carole is committed in seeing those who are experiencing homelessness over come barriers of healthcare and addictions.

Clinical Administrator – Debbie Coombes

Debbie joined the HealthBus in April 2024. She brings over a decade of experience in secondary care as a ward clerk at Royal Bournemouth Hospital, where she has excelled in delivering patient-centred care through trusted relationships. As Project Director at Foodbank, she has demonstrated her ability to galvanise teams, forge strong partnerships, and manage complex projects. Debbie is deeply passionate about supporting those in need and ensuring equity for all.

Social Prescriber Link Worker – Sam Freeman

Sam joined the HealthBus in May 2022, with a wealth of experience in mental health. Sam has worked for BCHA for seven years as mental health worker alongside supporting victims of human trafficking. Her experience includes working for the local authority and also the prison service. Sam is committed in seeing people overcoming personal barriers to meet their full potential.

Specialist Mental Health Nurse – Rachel Meaden

Rachel joined the HealthBus in March 2023. She has worked as a Mental Health Nurse for the past 9 years, specialising in addiction and homelessness. Rachel is passionate and committed to raising awareness and working with some of the specific mental health needs of people experiencing homelessness. She believes that these needs are often unable to be met through mainstream mental health services and can often be a complex contributor to the homelessness cycle.

Finance Manager – Rebecca Passmore

Rebecca joined the HealthBus team in March 2023 as Finance Manager. She has over 20 years experience in NHS finance. Her role is to free up the Frontline Team by dealing with all aspects of the charity’s financial procedures, so they can focus on the vital work they carry out for their patients. Rebecca lives in the New Forest with her husband and two boys, and outside of working enjoys painting and ballet to relax!

Operations, Training, Research Officer – Bels Wathen

Bels joined the HealthBus team as a volunteer in March 2022. Bels helps small businesses grow and specialises in people’s development, company culture and enhancing company values. Her career began in finance, enabling her to travel and work in large corporates with a diverse population. This experience helped her to build training programmes for global companies, whilst working for an interpersonal skills company. She has been a board member for over 15 years and is an energetic facilitator, meeting challenges with humour, enthusiasm, and compassion. Her mission is to leave the planet slightly better than when she arrived. Bels believes in equality, security and opportunity for all.

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Thank you for your support.

Without a permanent home, it can be difficult to access healthcare for many reasons. The HealthBus team offer specialist GP and medical services at the point of need. They work in partnership with other services providers, such as addiction and mental health specialists, to help people find the support they need to move on in life.

One rough sleeper, Dean, said of the HealthBus service: “No one sets out to be purposefully on the streets … sometimes you face situations which just leave you broken and desperate. After losing my job, home and key relationships my mental health deteriorated; and I resorted to harmful substances which drove me to the streets. After lots of encouragement from visiting health professionals, I have found hope and compassion from those involved with the HealthBus. This service is a lifeline! A much-needed refuge for those who are vulnerable. The staff and team involved with the HealthBus have saved and are saving lives … this work must continue!”