Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Alison Thorne-Henderson

Dual Chief People Officer

Alison joined Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust in 2022 and became Dual Chief People Officer for both of Cornwall's provider Trusts in 2023. Alison is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors, a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development, and holds a MA in Human Resource Management. She spent her early career in the private sector working for large retail companies before moving to TV, radio broadcasting, internet, and IT. Alison has worked as a human resources director within the acute NHS sector and held the role of the Chair for the human resources network of the Association of UK University Hospitals. Alison has held a non-executive director role for Young Enterprise and a board member role for NHS Employers Policy Board. Alison also has been a chief operating officer within palliative care and held various executive human resource director roles for a university, and the residential/domiciliary care sector. Alison has a passion for inclusion and customer service.

Colm Owens

Chief Medical Officer

With over 15 years' clinical experience as a consultant psychiatrist across liaison, older people, and general adult psychiatry in both urban and rural settings, he has 13 years in senior medical leadership, including 4 years at executive level. Colm brings a collaborative and integrative approach focused on innovation, quality improvement and strengthening neighbourhood teams. He is particularly interested in ensuring that the voices of experts by experience and clinicians are harnessed to improve outcomes. Colm is passionate about delivering sustainable, values-led services tailored to our diverse communities.

Kelvyn Hipperson

Chief Information Officer

Kelvyn joined our board of directors in August 2019. He is a dual appointment with the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust. Before joining the NHS Kelvyn had an extensive civil service career of almost 20 years. He has worked in senior technology roles in both the private sector and civil service. During his career he has transformed some of the largest IT service contracts in the UK. Kelvyn is a Chartered Engineer. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. He is also a Member of the British Computer Society. He holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) honours in physics and computer science. Alongside this, he holds a Master's in Philosophy (MPhil).

Louise Dickinson

Interim Chief Nursing Officer

Louise returned to the Trust in April 2026. She has extensive experience as a senior nursing leader across Cornwall and the wider NHS, most recently serving as our Director of Nursing and Allied Health Professionals. She previously held dual roles across both the Trust and the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, alongside senior positions including deputy director of nursing and consultant nurse in infection prevention and control. Louise began her career in frontline nursing across a range of specialties, including critical care and emergency medicine. A registered nurse with a master's in advanced clinical practice, she brings a strong focus on quality, safety and speaking up to support patients and staff.

Sarah James

Chief Improvement Officer

Sarah joined us in January 2023 from South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. At the ambulance trust, she was the interim executive director of quality and clinical care. Prior to this, she was their deputy director of quality. Over the last 15 years, her focus has been patient safety, service, quality improvement, and good governance. During this time she has held a variety of senior quality improvement and governance roles across the NHS. These include being the regional head of clinical quality (south west) for NHS Improvement. She is a registered nurse with a background in orthopaedics and trauma nursing. During her career, she has worked across all sectors of the NHS. This includes acute, community care, and commissioning. In addition to her experience in the NHS, Sarah holds a diploma in higher education (adult nursing), a BSc in nursing, and an MSc in strategic management.

Tamsyn Anderson

Chief Operating Officer

Tamsyn became our chief operating officer in December 2021. In this role she oversees all clinical and operational services. She brings a unique perspective to the role having trained and worked as a GP. She is a former GP partner at Newquay Health Centre. She has extensive senior-level and clinical experience. She has held board-level positions in both commissioning and provider organisations. Tamsyn has held a variety of roles with our local clinical commissioning group. These include medical director, practice-based commissioning, and governing body roles. Since 2016 she has been a member of our board of directors. Tamsyn is a passionate advocate of neighbourhood care.

Alison Nankervis

Associate Non-Executive Director

Alison is based at Bosvena Health in Bodmin. There, she is a GP partner and trainer. She joined our board in November 2025. Alison is interested in the impact integrated neighbourhood teams will have on health inequalities. She is also keen to see what they will mean for multi-professional learning and teaching. Alison has a degree from Birmingham University. She finished her GP training in 1998. After that, Alison worked as a GP partner and trainer in the Midlands. She moved to Cornwall in 2013. Alison is a mentor accredited by the European Mentoring and Coaching Council. In this role, she supports doctors during their first 5 years in post. Alison is also a GP appraiser.

Dean Harvey

Senior Independent Director

Dean joined us an associate non-executive director in May 2022. He became a non-executive director in April 2024. Dean became senior independent director in May 2025. He is the lead community development worker at Pentreath Ltd. He also an independent advisor to Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. He chaired the Cornwall Race Equality Council. He is a former trustee of the children's charity, CLEAR, and former board member, trustee, and presenter for Source FM. Dean helped to co-design the way hate crime is reported in Cornwall. He is an organiser of Cornwall's Respect Festival. With over 20 years' experience in community development work, he has designed and developed several specialised training packages relevant to services in Devon and Cornwall, drawn from an evidence base gained through involvement with regional and national networks. He is currently one of the Directors of the Devon and Cornwall Community Scrutiny panel and in 2022 he was the Winner of the 'Excellence in Leadership' Award at Cornwall Care and Support Awards.

Em Wilkinson-Brice

Non-Executive Director

Em joined us in June 2025 as a non-executive director. In 1992 she qualified as a nurse in Exeter. Em brings a wealth of experience. In her last role, Em was director of staff experience and leadership development with NHS England. She has worked at executive level. She was director of nursing and facilities at Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Prior to that, she was assistant director of nursing in Oxford. Em then took up executive roles with her chief nurse role in Exeter. Em remains a practicing nurse and has a master's degree in healthcare management.

Emma Rowse

Associate Non-Executive Director

Emma is Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum's chief executive. Her career spans the voluntary sector, charity, NHS, and local government. Emma has over 20 years of experience across these sectors. She advocates for the sector to be an equal partner in the design, delivery, and funding of services. She is the co-founder and director of a local yoga studio. She has a degree from the University of Liverpool and is a qualified coach. Emma has been a charity trustee and was a director of Sea Change Cornwall. She joined our board in November 2025.

John Newbury

Non-Executive Director

John joined our Trust in July 2023. His career has focussed on housing and community wellbeing during which he has championed the links between housing and health. During his career John has worked across local government in the West Midlands, Newcastle and London where he was an executive director of housing. He has also set up a housing and regeneration consultancy, advising central and local government and housing associations on performance, policy and business planning. He is currently a senior independent director for LiveWest, a housing association which supports the west country with 40,000 homes, over 10,000 of which are in Cornish communities. He brings a wealth of experience in service improvement and effective governance in public and not-for-profit sectors, partnership working, housing and estate management. John is a graduate and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing. He has 2 degrees in English and Philosophy and Housing Policy and Practice.

Julie Fielding

Non-Executive Director

Julie joined our Board of Directors in December 2024. In July 2021, she joined the Board of Governors at Falmouth University and in August 2023 became Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors, and Senior Independent Member at Falmouth University. Julie has an extensive career in policing. She has served with both Devon and Cornwall Police and Dorset Police. Julie worked in a variety of policing roles including as the Commander for Policing in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. During her career, she managed complex serious crimes, public protection investigations and major incidents. She left the force as Assistant Chief Constable. She has led ambitious change and improvement programmes. She has a keen interest in evidenced-based practice. For example, the use of public health approaches in policing. Julie led the Community Safety Partnership, the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Strategic Group and worked with partners and communities to reduce crime and harm. She was a key contributor to the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Health and Wellbeing Board and Public Sector Leadership Programme. She is a qualified coach. While in the police, she led on the development of wellbeing services for officers and staff.

Stuart Sweeney

Vice Chair

Stuart joined the Trust in March 2024 as a non-executive director. He will chair the People, Finance and Sustainability Committee. Stuart's previous experience has focused on finance and economics. He worked for 23 years in investment banking in London and New York rising to head of European corporate debt capital markets at UBS. He subsequently spent 5 years in social investment asset management. He has taught history and economic history at university. Stuart is an Independent Governor at the University of Greenwich. He is also a main board member at the SEND board of Kingston Council. Stuart has a BA in PPE and a doctorate in History from the University of Oxford. He has published 2 books on economic history.