mikecasselden

I originally went to art school and later became a town planner working for various councils in the South-east, the East Midlands and North Wales. I have always volunteered and at various times have been a local councillor, a Samaritan, trade union activist and CAB advisor. I chaired the Patient and Public Involvement in Health forum for primary healthcare in Newcastle Upon Tyne and from there was a patient representative on the PCT's Protection and Risk, and Quality and Safety committees until it was abolished. After that I became a national Patient Safety Champion as part of the WHO's global Patients for Patient Safety project and was on the Regional Health Authority's patient safety committee. I was on the Newcastle Diabetes Network and helped set up the Newcastle branch of Diabetes UK, of which I am a member. I am a member of VOICE, a group of older people who take part in projects organised around needs of older and disabled people by Newcastle University's Centre for Ageing and Vitality. I also volunteer for medical students to practice examination of patients. More recently I was a trustee and secretary of Newcastle's disability forum, although health issues have necessitated that I step back from some of my volunteering activities. But currently I am participating into a Newcastle University research project into patient safety. other than this, my main passions are research into my family history including dna links revealing my deep ancestry and ethnicities. I also carry on with art work which I have done since art school.