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2026/2027 Programme and Speaker Bios
Adam Sewell-Jones, October 2026
Chief Executive Officer, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
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Adam has worked in the NHS since 1992, initially as a trainee accountant and subsequently in roles including Director of Finance and Continuous Improvement, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive in trusts in London and Essex. He then went on to hold national leadership roles as Director of Provider Sustainability, Director of Improvement and Regional Director for the south west of England where he led on many development and improvement programmes. Adam joined Newham Hospital in East London as Chief Executive and then moved onto East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust before joining Mid and South Essex. In 2025 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Hertfordshire in recognition of his services to the NHS.
In this session, Adam will draw on his extensive leadership experience across local, regional and national NHS roles to explore what truly makes a team that people want to be part of. Reflecting on his journey from operational and finance roles through to Chief Executive, he will share practical insights on creating cultures where people feel valued, supported and able to thrive. Adam will focus on the role leaders play in setting the tone, building trust and balancing performance with compassion—highlighting how strong and engaged teams are critical to delivering sustainable improvement and high-quality patient care.
Dr Rachel Morris, November 2026
Podcacst Host and Former GP
Dr Rachel Morris is former GP who now helps doctors and other professionals in high stress, high stakes jobs beat burnout and work happier. Rachel is the host of the Apple Top 100 UK Business Chart podcast ‘You Are Not a Frog’ and creator of the Shapes Toolkit Resilience Training Programme. Rachel knows what it’s like to feel overwhelmed and one crisis away from not coping. She believes that you don’t need to dramatically change careers to thrive in your 9-5 (or 8-8) but by thinking differently, you can make deliberate choices to feel calmer, get some time and headspace and love what you do again.
Rachel’s talk will focus on practical strategies for managing personal wellbeing and workload in the pressured environment of the NHS. Drawing on her experience as a former GP and an executive coach and her work in medical education, she will challenge the myth that working harder always leads to success, and instead share tools for recognising your limits, prioritising what matters, and setting boundaries—even when it feels uncomfortable. Rachel will guide participants to identify what is truly within their control, embrace their human limits, and use ‘power language’ to make choices that protect their energy and effectiveness, helping leaders and managers to thrive rather than just survive.
Dr Helen Garr, December 2026
The Wellbeing GP & Medical Director NHS Practitioner Health
Dr Helen Garr is a GP, and founder of the ‘The Wellbeing GP’: supporting healthcare professionals to find joy, purpose and happiness at work. She is a recognised expert and leader in the field of wellbeing and mental health. She is known for her energetic and unique approach to wellbeing and has delivered her talks to audiences across the world and is a frequent guest on TV and Radio. Helen is also the Medical Director of NHS Practitioner Health, a National service supporting Healthcare professionals with mental health and addiction difficulties. Having worked for many years in student health as a GP at the University of Nottingham Health Service, Helen also continues to work in out of hours general practice. Helen also sits on a number of national expert groups and has contributed to many national mental health and wellbeing policies and guidance. She is a Nottinghamshire Medical committee member and is their Wellbeing lead.
In this session, Helen will explore how leaders can create psychologically safe environments where teams feel able to speak up, support one another and perform at their best. Drawing on her work as a GP, Medical Director of NHS Practitioner Health and a national leader in wellbeing, she will share practical insights from her talk “Making Your Team Brilliant.” Helen will focus on the critical role of communication, compassion and trust in building high-performing teams, offering simple but powerful tools that leaders can use to foster openness, resilience and a culture where people can truly thrive at work.
Terry Roberts, January 2027
Chief People Officer, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
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Terry Roberts is the Chief People Officer at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), one of the largest NHS teaching Trusts in England, and has been in post since February 2020. Terry has Board level responsibility for Workforce, Organisational Development, Communications, Staff Engagement, Employee Relations, Equality, diversity and Inclusion, learning and development and culture and leadership.
Terry is currently the Co-Chair of the NHS People Profession Board where the focus is developing the 20,000 people professionals across the NHS. He has also worked at a national level at NHS England as Joint Director of Equality and Inclusion where he led the development of a national equality and diversity improvement plan for the NHS. He has also worked regionally to address health inequalities across the South East during covid. Before joining OUH, Terry has held a number of other senior positions within NHS Trusts across the country and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Terry was the 2023 Healthcare People Management Association (HPMA) HR Director of the Year and was also voted one of the HR Most Influential Top Practitioners List for HR Excellence Awards in 2023 and 2024.
In this session, Terry will draw on his extensive experience in NHS workforce and organisational development to explore how leaders can build cultures where people genuinely thrive. He will reflect on the key challenges facing the NHS workforce, from recruitment and retention to long-term sustainability and what these mean for teams on the ground. Terry will focus on the role leaders play in creating inclusive, supportive environments where people feel valued and able to do their best work, highlighting the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion alongside practical approaches to strengthening culture and engagement across organisations.
Lawrence Tallon, February 2027
Chief Executive, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
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Lawrence became the chief executive of the MHRA in April 2025. Before joining the MHRA, Lawrence spent 5 years as deputy chief executive at Guy’s and St Thomas’ (GSTT) NHS Foundation Trust. His role included oversight of the organisation’s strategy, technology, innovation, commercialisation and multiple major strategic change programmes. In the decade prior to that, Lawrence worked in a range of executive strategy and leadership roles in university hospitals in the UK and Middle East.
Lawrence began his career working for the UK Government in Whitehall, as a fast stream civil servant at the Department of Health and Social Care, before working for the Secretary of State for Health and running the headquarters of the NHS chief executive. He worked on a range of high profile national policy issues, working across Government and with No.10 Downing Street, Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Cabinet Office, and becoming a senior civil servant within the Department of Health and Social Care.
In this session, Lawrence will draw on his experience leading major change at both organisational and national level to explore what it really takes to deliver improvement in the NHS. Reflecting on roles including Deputy Chief Executive at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and now Chief Executive of the MHRA, he will share practical insights on leading through complexity, bringing people with you and making change stick in large organisations. The session will look at how leaders balance ambition with realism and how to drive meaningful improvement while staying focused on patient care and frontline delivery.
In person all-day conference
Central London venue, Monday 14th September 2026
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