Public constituency - Whitby, Scarborough and Ryedale

Simon Blackburn

Now semi-retired, I have over 35 years’ experience as a business and systems analyst in the private sector working closely with organisations from SMEs to large, complex multi-nationals, delivering consultancy and technical solutions, mostly business critical, in manufacturing, air transport, logistics, business intelligence and health and social care.  My final six years were with NHS Connecting for Health and the Health and Social Care Information Centre, working alongside service colleagues including the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHSFT and others on driving the development of data sets, information standards and terminology solutions designed to improve patient outcomes.  Driving information quality, availability, accessibility and absolute relevance were keys drivers in my career.

To be successful in such a role depends entirely on working closely and sympathetically with people at all levels in an organisation to fully understand its aims, processes, conditions and requirements across the estate to manage and deliver change.  It is this quality of which I am most proud, and one that I feel would ensure I make a meaningful contribution to the role of Public Governor.

My semi-retirement is not trivial. I enjoy a worthwhile challenge. I am actively involved in two local third sector organisations, where I have grown my area of responsibility and developed processes to meet legislative requirements to deliver safe, compliant and effective traffic management for our local community events.  I also enjoy many domestic activities, including maintaining a sailing boat, which my wife and I have extensively rebuilt. 

Enjoyable though my retirement certainly is, I still have much to offer, and the NHS is an organisation that I feel passionate in supporting.  Becoming a Public Governor for Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust would not only be interesting, but a positive way of contributing my skills and experience to an essential service in a meaningful way.