About the Executive Committee

The Executive Committee of BAHT is a group of members elected at the AGM to lead the organisation. The Executive's responsibility is to promote the objectives and manage the resources of the BAHT.

The individuals become Directors of the organisation according to the requirements of Charity Law.

The titles of the committee members reflect their specific responsibilities to lead in their area plus reporting to the whole committee at each alternate-monthly meeting. BAHT has been very fortunate to have had many forward thinking and hardworking committees over the years.

The Current Executive Committee

Christy Fowler (Chair)

Occupational Therapist – London

Christy started her career as a Hand Therapist in Australia before relocating to the United Kingdom in 2010. Christy is a clinical specialist hand therapist working within the private sector at the London Hand and Wrist Unit. She has worked at the London Hand and Wrist Unit for the past 4 years and has a strong interest in Congenital Paediatric Hand Conditions and the rehabilitation of sportsmen with hand injuries. Christy is currently completing her Masters in Advancing Clinical Practice at the University of Ulster.

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Hayley Smith (Vice-Chair)

Occupational Therapist – East Kent

Hayley is an occupational therapist, who has spent most of her time since graduating within hand therapy settings. She works both within the NHS and privately, currently full time at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust.

Hayley joined the BAHT executive committee in September 2015 and is keen to work within the Executive Committee to promote hand therapy across the country.

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Nicola Hern (Director of Advertising)

Occupational Therapist – Leeds

Nicola qualified as an occupational therapist in 2007 from York St. John University. She specalised in hands in 2009, working at the Leeds General Infirmary until 2016. There she treated a wide range of complex hand trauma and developed a particular interest in flexor tendon injuries and the use of casting for the stiff hand. She has recently taken up a new hand therapist role in a newly emerging team at the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS trust and hopes to be able to share her skills in order to promote hand therapy and develop the team in this area.

Nicola was co-opted onto the committee in 2016 and wants to use her role to promote hand therapy regionally and nationally in order to improve understanding and awareness.

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Sam Tomkins (Treasurer)

Physiotherapist – London

Sam qualified as a chartered physiotherapist in 2005, and has specialized in Hand Therapy since 2008 following pursuing a specialty in MSK and Rugby Physiotherapy. She is now employed as one of the Clinical Specialist Hand Therapists who works in the nationally renowned Hand and Wrist Unit at Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Trust, which is a generic centre. Sam has a background working in Private Practice, and also in Sports Physiotherapy, often acting as a consultant therapist for national football and rugby teams who have players with hand, wrist and elbow conditions.

Sam has been a co-opted member of the Executive committee since June 2015.

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Leanna Topcuoglu (Director of Journal)

BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapist.Leanne gained her degree from Canterbury Christ Church University College in 2001. She has worked within the NHS for 14 years, with over 12 years experience in treating hand conditions. Leanne currently works for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals alongside a team of orthopaedic and plastics hand surgeons as a clinical lead hand therapist. Leanne is skilled in complex hand assessment and condition management with a special interest in complex polytrauma and CRPS

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Simon Sterry (BAHT Secretary )

Simon qualified with an MSc in Occupational Therapy in 2012 from the University of East Anglia.  Since graduating he has worked at a number of large trauma centres including the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham and Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.  While at Broomfield Hospital a specialist regional unit for burns and plastics he got his first post as a hand therapist. 

Presently Simon works at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital overseeing a diverse patient caseload working under the Trauma and Orthopaedics and Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery Services.  He has a keen interest in the management of traumatic injuries in both clinical areas.

Simon joined the executive committee in November 2017 with the aim of elevating pubic knowledge of hand therapy and promoting the two professions of physiotherapy and occupational therapy within this field. 

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Lisa Newington (Chair)

Physiotherapist – London

Lisa graduated in 2006 with an MSc in Physiotherapy and has been working as a hand therapist since 2008. Lisa has worked in both the NHS and private settings and enjoys treating patients with a range of upper limb injuries and acquired conditions.

In 2012 Lisa was awarded an AHP Research Training Fellowship at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London Biomedical Research Centre, where she developed a qualitative study exploring participation in clinical research.

Lisa has continued to combine her interest in clinical practice and research and was awarded a Wessex HEE/NIHR Clinical Academic Internship in 2014 in association with the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (University of Southampton). This collaboration led to the development of a series of studies to explore return to work after carpal tunnel release, and in 2015 Lisa won an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship to complete this research.

Lisa also continues to work clinically at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London.

Lisa was co-opted to the Clinical Evidence Committee in 2013, becoming chair in 2015, and is committed to supporting and promoting hand therapy research.

Donna Kennedy

Occupational Therapist – London

Donna is an occupational therapist with over 30 years of post-qualification experience. She has trained and worked both in the U.S. and the UK; completing a BSc at Tufts University in 1984 and an MSc at the University of East Anglia in 2009.

She has been a certified hand therapist (CHT) since 1992. She has worked as the director of hand therapy at a large major trauma centre; in private practice and most recently as clinical specialist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Currently, she is undertaking an NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship in pain research at Imperial College London.

She has published her work in peer-reviewed journals and presented internationally. She has diverse research interests including outcome measurement, reliability and prognostic research. She is passionate about promoting excellence in hand therapy, both in clinical care and research.

Suzanne Beale

Occupational Therapist – Birmingham

Suzanne qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1991 and has specialised in Hand Therapy since 1996. Suzanne currently works as a Clinical Specialist Hand Therapist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Hand (QEHB), starting this role in 2001.

Since 2015, Suzanne has also worked as an academic research therapist within the Hand and Peripheral Nerve Service at QEHB. Suzanne’s specialist interest is within the peripheral nerve injury service, specifically the assessment and treatment of nerve and tendon transfers. Other interests include patient education and post-graduate training of therapists within hand therapy.

Suzanne completed a Masters in Hand Therapy at Derby University in 2005. Suzanne joined the BAHT CEC in 2016 and is keen to support the further development of research in the clinical workplace.

Victoria Jansen

Physiotherapist – East Grinstead

Victoria graduated as a physiotherapist in 1996, and after her rotational post, initially specialised in burns, plastics and trauma working in the Burns units at Roehampton, and East Grinstead as well as abroad in Auckland, New Zealand and Singapore. Victoria has worked in the Pulvertaft Hand Unit, in Derby since 2000, and her caseload includes both acute hand trauma and chronic conditions. Victoria has a dual role as both a senior hand therapist and a researcher.

Victoria’s special interest is in the therapy management of hand OA and wrist pain, with thumb OA being the focus of her current research activity. She has presented her research at national (BAHT) and international conferences (IFSSH and EFSSH), and published her work in peer reviewed journals.

In 2014, she was awarded a HEE/NIHR ICA Programme Masters Studentship and completed a Master’s in Research Methods at the University of Nottingham. Victoria is about to start a further HEE scholarship to prepare a PhD application.

Victoria joined the CEC in 2017 and is committed to supporting members to develop the knowledge base for the conditions we treat, and the evidence base for hand therapy practice.

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How to Join the BAHT Clinical Evidence Committee

The CEC are responsible for managing the annual BAHT Research Grant, plus the abstracts and research content for the annual BAHT conference. We are also a point of contact throughout the year, for research opportunities and queries involving hand therapy or our patients.

If you are interested in becoming involved with the BAHT CEC, please contact us on Email not available without JavaScript. We are looking for therapists with some research experience.