Dr Jackie Elliott, Chair of the DAFNE Executive Board
Clinical Lead for Diabetes, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Senior Clinical Lecturer / Honorary Consultant, University of Sheffield
Jackie is a consultant physician and senior lecturer in diabetes working in Sheffield since 2013. She has served on the Executive DAFNE Board since 2013, and in Jan 2020 was elected as Co-Chair of the Board. Her role is to help build on the previous 20 years of DAFNE success, by continuing to promote DAFNE as a world-leading course helping people with type 1 diabetes lead as normal a life as possible.
Gill Thompson, National director DAFNE programme
Gill has been operational lead for the national programme and managerial lead for the central DAFNE team since 2001, having been the project manager for the initial DAFNE feasibility research study. She is responsible for the development and implementation of the infrastructure and systems and ensures that governance, accountability requirements and risk management arrangements are met. Gill is an applied biology graduate who worked in private industry and as a research assistant for a GP practice in Newcastle prior to joining DAFNE.
Sally Woolgar, National DAFNE Training Development Lead
Sally has been a diabetes specialist dietitian since 2001, with experience in primary and secondary care and in higher education. Her main interest is diabetes education and training for both healthcare professionals (HCPs) and people with type 1 diabetes. She is passionate about effective self-care and structured therapeutic adult education.
Sally has been involved in the national DAFNE programme since 2002 and has been lead national trainer and quality assessor since 2014. She is currently leading on the redesign of the training portfolio, quality assurance and audit programmes, to ensure that the DAFNE programme continues to meet the needs of people with type 1 diabetes and HCPs.
Liesl Richardson, National DAFNE trainer and quality assessor
Liesl has been a diabetes specialist nurse since 1999 and a DAFNE educator and peer reviewer since 2005. She was involved in the 5×1 DAFNE RCT and the DAFNEplus pilot and joined the central DAFNE team in 2017 as a National DAFNE trainer and quality assessor. Liesl is currently involved in the redesign, development and delivery of the DAFNE training portfolio.
Liesl is committed to increasing education and self-management skills for people with type 1 diabetes, based on a shared philosophy and consistent information that fits within our evolving NHS.
Becky Hedgcock, National DAFNE Operations Manager
Becky is responsible for the day to day management of the central DAFNE office and the administration team.
Her role involves implementing, monitoring and planning the training programmes and audit requirements, as well as providing financial management. She works closely with the National DAFNE director and Chair of the Executive Board, providing operational and administrative support. In addition Becky develops and implements office systems and processes to support the key business functions of the national DAFNE programme.
Central admin team, Paula Longstaff, Alexa Wilson and Sam Alder
The central DAFNE team are responsible for organising all the healthcare professional DAFNE training programmes and ensuring the trainees’ journeys are processed smoothly from start to finish. The team are also responsible for organising the executive and management meetings throughout the year as well as the annual DAFNE collaborative event and network meetings.
