John Prendergast - CSC Chair
John is Senior Decontamination Engineer working within the specialist team at NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership/Specialist Estates Services. His role is dedicated to all aspects of decontamination/reprocessing techniques of medical devices. John is a member of a team that provides validation services, advice and guidance to Health Boards/Trusts within Wales and works closely with Welsh governmental departments to deliver policy and strategy in this unique and often complex field.
John has worked within the NHS in Wales for the past 35 years.
In 2012 John completed the ACIST course (qualifying course for Authorised Engineer - Decontamination) and was formally accepted onto the IHEEM register as an Authorised Engineer (Decontamination) late 2013.
He finds his work challenging in very difficult times, financial restrictions within the NHS, changing guidance and increasing accountability to Healthcare organisations provide the ultimate quandary.
John is very proud to be the current Chair of CSC and previously served, in various roles on CSC committee between 2011-2022.
Tracy Walley – Secretary
Upon hearing that the CSC committee was looking to recruit to fill vacancies, Tracy volunteered to assist with a role within the committee. Tracy had a sales career for some 20 years which started as a sales executive in the Health and Fitness Industry. She then went to work in the family business for 6 years selling jewellery then into retail covering the South of the UK. Tracy worked for Lyreco UK (when 2010) and was one the top salespeople out of a total sales force of 1200.
Tracy first stepped into the decontamination sector in 2015 and has never looked back on this move. Tracy is currently working for Sychem as the Healthcare Sales Executive for the Midlands, North and Scotland.
Tracy has a keen interest in walking and conquered the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge in 2019.
Jonathan Lintott – Treasurer
Jonathan has over 25 years of experience designing, installing, validating and operating sterilisers in Europe, USA and Asia.
He has a Masters degree in Engineering and vast experience in regulatory compliance.
Jonathan is currently the Managing Director of Andersen Caledonia Ltd, leading the largest independent sterilisation and laboratory testing supplier in the UK.
For the last 5 years Jonathan has been a visiting Lecturer at the University of Limerick.
Becky Hill – Media and Website Coordinator
Starting as a microbiology research scientist in 1986, Becky moved into the commercial world of water purification joining ELGA in 1990, where she worked in many different sectors providing water quality solutions to a vast range of applications. In 1996 Becky focussed on applications for water in healthcare, becoming heavily involved in reusable medical device decontamination. She was instrumental in designing the first dedicated water system able to support endoscope washer disinfector reprocessing, before moving into the field of Renal dialysis.
In 2010 Becky started Solutions 42 Ltd providing training and consultancy services in the fields of water, decontamination and infection prevention control. During this period she co-wrote chapter 11 in “Decontamination in hospitals and healthcare” edited by Dr J Walker published in 2014 (revised November 2019.) Designed, developed and delivered the “Water Quality for Decontamination Services” module, of the RMD decontamination pathway diploma originally run by Anglia Ruskin University. She supported a Care Home group for 6 years in reducing the number of Norovirus outbreak events and improving cleaning standards, resulting in successfully presenting a poster at IPS 2021 on the outcomes of the intervention. She has recently come full circle re-joining Veolia as the water solutions services manager for healthcare.
Becky is passionate about holistic training integrating human behaviour science with specialist subjects. She is qualified in adult education and training which she combines with cultural transformational tools for creating measurable performance improvements for individuals, teams and organisations. She has been an invited speaker at various professional conferences both in the UK and abroad with her latest speaking experience in Melbourne Australia at SRACA (Sterilising Research Advisory Council of Australia (Vic) Inc).
Jennifer Stevenson – Membership Secretary
Jennifer has been involved in infection control and decontamination for over 25 years. Jennifer started her nursing career in 1986 at Newcastle Hospitals Foundation Trust working in both medical and surgical directorates finally working in Cardiothoracic surgery which led to involvement in infection control and endoscope decontamination. She has dedicated a substantial amount of her nursing career to the NHS and this has given her the advantage of the understanding of NHS policies and procedures, Jennifer continues to follow developments in the NHS to enhance her personal professional development. Jennifer left the NHS in 2004 to take up the role of a clinical nurse educator/advisor within the MedTech Industry where the focus was on the education and development of endoscope and instrument decontamination.
Professionally she has maintained her nurse registration and continued with her education gaining City & Guilds teaching qualifications and a certificate in higher education (CertEd). Jennifer has been key in the development of various product support guidelines whilst working within her current employment and other MedTech companies.
Jennifer lives in Newcastle upon Tyne but is originally is from Rossendale in Lancashire. Her hobbies include music festivals, sewing, reading and spending time in her campervan.
James Tinsdeall Authorizing Engineer (Decontamination)
He contributes knowledge as a Head of Estates within the NHS for 20 years, and overall NHS experience of 30 years. Having recently completed the AED competency framework and consequently added to the AE(D) register. James is now running a limited company providing AE(D) services and consultancy to healthcare organisations in the UK and EU.
Andrea Wadey - Committee Member
Joined the NHS at Queens hospital Burton Upon Trent in 1991 as part of the domestic/housekeeping team. Whilst employed within this role one of the departments that benefitted from this service was Sterile Services; this was my introduction into the world of decontamination.
Following this I was taken on as one of the technicians within SSD for many years followed with a family relocation to the south coast of England. I was lucky enough to continue my work within SSD at St. Richards Hospital in Chichester.
I have been very fortunate that this opportunity has led to progression for myself in the field of decontamination within my trust from a technician role through to managing 2 x Sterile Services, 2 x Equipment Library and 2 x Medical Engineering departments at Chichester & Worthing.
Throughout the past 32 years I have gained an immense amount of knowledge and experience whilst working alongside many amazing people.
I am excited to be a member of the CSC committee and have the chance to share and continue to grow my knowledge and expertise.
Sulisti Holmes – Committee Member
Sulisti Holmes is the Head of Decontamination and Incident Reporting Investigation
Centre, acting as the strategic lead for medical device safety and decontamination in NHS Scotland.
She completed a degree in Pharmacy, a PhD in Applied Microbiology, postdoctoral
research projects. She completed the Advanced Course in Sterilization Technology,
Lead Auditor ISO 13485 and 4 TOPRA master classes on Medical Device
Regulations.
She sits on British and European Standard Committees. She is the author/co-author of various decontamination articles.
She has been a member of CSC for over 10 years and keen to make bigger contributions by promoting membership and activities in Scotland.
Pat Cattini – Committee Member
Associate Director Infection Prevention and Control and Decontamination Lead at University Hospitals Sussex. Formerly infection prevention lead at Royal Marsden, Immediate Past President of the Infection Prevention Society, winner of the British Journal of Nursing, Infection Prevention Nurse of the Year 2017, author of the IPC Chapter in 10th Edition of the ‘Marsden Manual’.
Pat has worked in IPC for 30 years, in both acute, specialist and community settings with extensive experience in all aspects of IPC including building design, refurbishment, environmental hygiene, decontamination, water hygiene, ventilation, hand hygiene, infection management etc. I was nursing representative on the CJD Incidents panel from 2003-2009.
Mike Simmons – Committee Member
Mike Simmons is a consultant medical microbiologist. His training in microbiology was interrupted by active service in the Falklands War but he managed to qualify as a consultant with the Royal Navy before moving to the late departed Public Health Laboratory Service.
He joined the NHS in 1990 before working for the CMO in Wales in 2000. Since 2010 he has been back in Carmarthen, where he is the clinical lead for microbiology for the Hywel Dda University Health Board, covering Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.
While working for the Welsh Government he chaired the decontamination project that led to all HSDU’s in Wales achieving Medical Device Directive accreditation and since that time has chaired the all Wales sterilisation and decontamination group.
He also leads the Narrative Reporting project for Public Health Wales, which he hopes will be a lasting legacy.
Karen Johnson – Committee Member
I started in the NHS in 1977 as a Trainee MLSO and after completing my HND at Birmingham chose Microbiology as my subject choice. Successfully completed the Special in Micro in 1980. From 1980 – 2000 I worked in the laboratories at the George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton progressing to Head Biomedical Scientist managing the whole service.
Moving into general hospital management in 2000, and then to University Hospitals Birmingham in 2004 as a Director of Operations. During that period I have managed theatres, intensive care, trauma, ent, ophthalmology, maxilliofacial surgery, dermatology and plastic surgery until in 2009 I moved to work for the Chief Nurse.
The portfolio changed to managing infection control, decontamination and facilities services linking controlling infections with cleaning regimes. I added estates to my area of responsibility until the merger with HEFT when it reverted to IPC, Decontamination and Facilities services.
Retiring and returning in 2019 I now still manage Decontamination across the four sites and work on projects for the Chief Nurse on a reduced hours contract.
I continue to enjoy my involvement with the IPC team at the Trust and with all things Decontamination. There have been so many changes to Infection Control, Microbiology and Decontamination since 1977 it is had to recollect how we diagnosed and worked 40 years ago. Technology has long replaced hand spreading of plates and individual placing of antibiotic discs !
Being asked to join the CSC Committee is an honour especially as the long involvement of my dear friend Tina Bradley gives it a very special place in my heart.
