Kevin has over 25 years experience working in the Healthcare sector predominantly in Medical Devices across the Stoma and Continence categories. He has worked for one of the leading Stoma Care companies, set up SureCalm Healthcare in 2010 and is now supporting the BHTA Stoma Manufacturers section & the Dispensing Appliance Contractors sections. He also chair of the Drug Tariff Committee which consists of representatives from the five main Part IX trade associations.
Matt Forde is a critically acclaimed stand-up, impressionist, writer and podcaster. He is creator and host of the hit live podcast The Political Party, a lead writer and voice in the revived Spitting Image and presents the weekly Rock ‘n’ Roll Football Show on Absolute Radio.
Lydia Hardy is a Stoma Care Nurse Specialist and Non-Medical Prescriber at the Royal Devon University Healthcare Trust in Exeter, where she has worked for ten years. With twenty years of nursing experience, Lydia also has a background in Minor Injuries, Elderly Care, and Gynaecology. She is passionate about delivering excellent, patient-centred care and feels privileged to work alongside a supportive and dedicated team. Outside of work, Lydia is a proud mum to her six-year-old daughter, who inspires her daily and often encourages her to step outside her comfort zone! Lydia values time by the sea and swimming, which helps her to recharge and maintain balance.
I qualified in 1999 and my first specialist role was within a stoma Dept leading into a role as a Colorectal cancer clinical nurse specialist within the same trust. I was involved in the Peer review process within the trust and I became part of the team looking at national cancer care as part of the cancer services collaborative project. In 2013 I joined Salts Healthcare working within a busy community area. I gradually became the team lead for the service and in 2024 became the Clinical services lead at Salts Healthcare. I have completed a leadership course internally with Salts and more recently with the Kings Fund. This has given me extensive knowledge on leadership and how to practice effective leadership within a busy team.
Simona is a nurse researcher specialising in gastroenterology and stoma care, with a focus on sexual wellbeing, intimacy, and quality of life in people with chronic digestive conditions. She has led several international studies, published in peer-reviewed journals, and works in collaboration with patients, charities, and industry to improve education and clinical practice.
Thomas Pinkney is a Chair of Surgical Trials at the University of Birmingham and Director of Clinical Research at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
From a clinical point of view, he is a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Surgery Lead at University Hospitals Birmingham.
Professor Pinkney is Director of the Birmingham Surgical Trials Consortium (BiSTC) and the Birmingham Centre for Observational and Prospective Studies (BiCOPS). He is currently Chief Investigator of five NIHR-funded trials, including the £10.26M ROSSINI-Platform trial which is exploring the reduction of Surgical Site Infection across six surgical specialities.
Carly is a Stoma Care Nurse with over four years of dedicated practice in stoma care, following a clinical foundation in surgical and ward-based nursing. Carly is deeply committed to improving the lives of those individuals living with stomas both in the pre-operative period and for their ongoing recovery and adaptation.
She is particularly passionate about supporting patients in maintaining their overall health and wellbeing post-surgery, and takes a proactive interest in gut health, recognising its vital role in long-term quality of life.
Outside of her clinical role, she enjoys being active and outdoors. She encourages her patients to safely return to the activities they love or even to embrace new opportunities.
Kerry Archer is a cancer specialist physiotherapist with over 10 years of experience in the field of oncology and has been part of the team at Active Against Cancer (Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust) – a country first gold standard exercise referral service delivering exercise to people diagnosed with cancer, supporting them from diagnosis through their treatment and beyond. More recently she has joined Move Against Cancer – a charity which inspires, supports and empowers people to move against cancer. Recognised as an expert in her field, Kerry is also a tutor for CanRehab – an award winning provider of evidence based, specialist training in Cancer and Exercise for health and fitness professionals.
Sarah Russell MSc is a clinical exercise specialist with 30 years of experience in exercise science, rehabilitation and fitness, and 15 years working with people after stoma surgery. She has published a book called The Bowel Cancer Recovery Toolkit and numerous peer reviewed journal papers. She is project lead and author of the EXPASS best practice recommendations for exercise and physical activity after stoma surgery. She runs her own private rehabilitation service The Ostomy Studio, offering online classes and consultancy, is global exercise specialist to Convatec and exercise consultant to the Ileostomy Association and ovarian cancer charity, Ovacome. She has lived with an ileostomy herself since 2010, and brings together personal, academic and professional experience and is widely recognised as an expert in the field of stoma, rehabilitation and parastomal hernia.