Andrew Harkness joined St Giles Hospice in April 2022 as Chief Executive Officer.

Andrew is responsible for the operational management and administration of the organisation. He is committed to achieving a positive environment while putting patients and their families at the heart.​​​​​​​

Andrew completed his BSc Hons in Pharmacy in 1997. In 2009 he successfully applied to the National Consultant in Public Health training scheme, completing a Master’s in Public Health and formally qualifying as a consultant in 2014. Andrew is also a graduate of the NHS Leadership Nye Bevan programme and is a proud advocate of inclusive leadership.

He has worked for the public sector (NHS and Local Authority) for over 25 years; with over seven years of Board level experience. He has provided senior leadership on numerous system and organisational programmes; and has designed, developed, and implemented population level programmes and care pathways. These have had demonstrated impacts on access to services and quality of patient care.

Elinor joined St Giles Hospice in 2018 as Director of Fundraising and became Income Generation Director in 2020.

She is responsible for income generation across the organisation, including the hospice shops network.

Elinor moved to St Giles Hospice from Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, where she was Deputy Director of Fundraising. She has a BSc Hons in Biochemistry and Pharmacology.

Katie Burbridge joined St Giles Hospice in 2008 as Lead Clinical Nurse. In 2009, Katie became Nurse Consultant for Palliative Care and was appointed Director of Clinical Services on 1st September 2015.

Katie is responsible for all clinical community and inpatient services, leading and supporting the provision of high-quality care. She is also the Registered Manager for St Giles Hospice, Whittington.

Katie qualified as a nurse in 1999 and holds a BSc Hons in Specialist Nursing, Post Graduate Certificate in Education, MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice, with the additional qualification as an independent prescriber.

Prior to joining St Giles, Katie worked across primary, secondary and third sector health care settings together with higher education Institutes.

Debbie joined St Giles Hospice in August 2022 as Executive Medical Director.

She qualified from the University of Birmingham in 1998. After speciality training in the West Midlands, she became a consultant in palliative medicine in 2009.

Debbie took up post as Medical Director at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice in 2012 and in 2020 she was appointed to the joint Medical Director role across Birmingham St Mary’s and John Taylor Hospices (The Hospice Charity Partnership).

Alongside her Medical Director role, since May 2021, Debbie has also been the NHS England Regional Clinical Lead for Palliative and End of Life Care (West Midlands) As part of her MSc in Healthcare Policy and Management (University of Birmingham) she researched post-merger cultural integration in the hospice sector.

Robin Vickers joined St Giles Hospice as a trustee in November 2020, and is currently a Healthcare Partner at Newton Europe, leading their work on healthcare and system integration.

Robin has wide experience as a consultant in running and transforming major businesses in the technology and healthcare sectors.

He has worked as an adviser to governments and industry within the health and life sciences sector and brings 20 years of experience in UK.

Steve Ridler was elected as a Trustee in October 2016 and is Chair of the Charity’s Finance and Estates Governance Committee.

Before retiring, Steve was Deputy Chief Executive of The Midcounties Co-operative.

He is a Chartered Accountant with experience in professional practice, manufacturing, and retailing. He has also been involved in the management of elderly care homes and Early Years settings.

Paul Jennings joined St Giles Hospice as a trustee in 2020.

Prior to retiring, Paul worked in NHS roles for over 40 years, 23 of which as a Chief Executive in both commissioning and provider roles. His last full-time role was as Chief Executive Officer of Birmingham and Solihull CCG where he was also system lead.

Paul is Chair of Hospice UK and a Trustee of the Nishkam Health Care Trust. He has previously chaired a housing charity and the Gold Standards Framework. He is also an Associate NED at the University Hospitals of Birmingham FT.

Simon James initially joined St Giles Hospice as a trustee in 2001 and he re-joined the Board in November 2020.He was Chairman of the charity between 2011 and 2015 and Deputy Chairman until 2016.

He also holds a number of key roles within a wide range of local charities and community organisations, including Lichfield Conduit Lands Trust, Lichfield Municipal Charities, The Mary Slater Charity, Michael Lowe and Associated Charities, Swinfen Broun Charitable Trust and the HE and CT Robinson Charitable Trust for Lokono Arawak and Carib Indians.

Cath Finn joined St Giles Hospice as a trustee in November 2020.

She worked as a consultant gynaecologist in the NHS until 2009 and thereafter in the independent healthcare sector as a medical director until her retirement in 2018.

Cath has huge experience in promoting best practice and excellence in cancer care in both the NHS and the private sector and was involved in developing and expanding NHS cancer services at local, regional and national levels.

She is an expert in clinical governance and medical workforce development, and interacted with St Giles Hospice during her medical career, driven by a passion for developing end of life and palliative care services.

Val Jones joined St Giles Hospice as a trustee in 2021.

Before retiring, Val worked as Director of Nursing and Quality for Cannock and Stafford Clinical Commissioning Groups, which is where she first became acquainted with St Giles.

Val has enjoyed a long career in the NHS, as well as spending a period of time in Germany providing healthcare for British soldiers and their families.

Sarb Basi joined St Giles Hospice as a trustee in 2022.

Sarb has joined the team following his role as UK Primary Care lead at KPMG.

His background includes more than 18 years senior NHS experience and more than 12 years’ experience in the private sector.

Sarb has held management positions in Acute Hospital Trusts and Combined Acute and community hospital Trusts; as well as senior Executive Director level experience within Primary Care Groups and Teaching Primary Care Trusts.

Peter Ingham joined St Giles Hospice as a trustee in 2022.

Peter has been a practising GP for over 30 years. He has acted as Clinical Chair to the Birmingham and Solihull CCG Commission Group for three years before moving on to join the University Hospital Birmingham as a primary care advisor, where he continues to work.

He also sits on the Clinical Board at British Telecom to advise on their ambition to become the NHS’s most trusted partner.

Noel Shanahan joined St Giles Hospice as a trustee in 2022.

Now retired, Noel was previously CEO of the Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), CEO and Commissioner of the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission and Director General & Chief Operating Officer at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). He has also held senior roles at BT, Mercury, Cable & Wireless and ntl Cable.

Noel is also a Non-Executive Director of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Nighat Sultana joined St Giles Hospice as a trustee in November 2022.

She has over 25 years of experience working in hospital, commissioning, and programme management settings, and is the NHS England System Improvement Partner for the Midlands.

Nighat is hugely passionate about improving patient healthcare with a particular focus on reducing inequalities.

She is a member of West Midlands NHS clinical senate, Co-chair for the NHS Midlands Menopause Network and Co-chair for the Race and Ethnicity Network and the Equality, Inclusion and diversity lead for the Performance and Improvements directorate in NHSE.