Trustees Of Community Heartbeat
Ron Simpson – Chairman - Ron Simpson has over 50 years public, private and social enterprise management and leadership experience as a community leader, senior manager and volunteer. A Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Ron is a qualified teacher and trainer with a Master’s Degree in the field of Equality in Education. Ron also chairs the countryside charity CPRE Rutland. Prior to his appointment as a Trustee of the Community Heartbeat Trust Ron worked with the CHT Secretary, community partnership Uppingham First and Rotary International to develop a comprehensive network of CHT defibrillators and associated training events in the market town of Uppingham in Rutland.
Graham Whitehead - Graham Whitehead has worked for many years as a Senior Commercial Manager and Trainer before moving over to the public sector, working on NHS contracts, dealing with staff and patients as an Ambulance Station Manager, and also having hands on experience as an HR specialist. He is also an Emergency Medical Technician, CFR and First Aid instructor.
Dr Alexander Nicholls, MBChB, MRCGP, BSc, DMCC - Major Dr. Alex Nicholls is a General Practitioner and healthcare innovator with a passion for reimagining service delivery. He believes healthcare innovation needs to be more disruptive, more creative and more ambitious. He promotes radical healthcare innovation working with varied organizations to exploit emerging technology. He has ten years’ experience delivering front-line medical care spanning pre-hospital, primary and secondary care in diverse locations across the globe. He has presented internationally on health technology innovation and has worked on a diverse portfolio of projects.
Throughout the COVID19 pandemic Alex was seconded to UK Strategic Command as Medical Innovation Fellow, his talent and vision was recognized after delivering a telemedicine-hub proof of concept and he was recognized as a subject matter expert by UK Defence for his work on biosensor exploitation and technology assisted human performance optimization. He has also been at the forefront of using Drone technology to deliver defibrillators to rural locations.
Alongside balancing his innovation work with remaining clinically current, Alex is keen a passionate promoter of the value of neurodiversity, he was not diagnosed as dyslexic until university and recognizes the advantages and difficulties that come with thinking differently. He lives in Catterick near Scotch Corner, is married with one child.
Jonathan Smith, SR Para - Jonathan is a state registered paramedic, both here in the UK and in the USA. He currently runs his own training organisation focusing on advanced life support, FREQ 3&4; PHTLS; 12 lead ECG, Arrhythmia interpretation and also has been a trainer working with CHT for several years. He is a member of the American Heart Association, and an international instructor in ALS for AHA.
Jonathan trained in Biochemistry and pre-Med in Spokane University in the US and then post-graduate degree in Paramedic Science also in Spokane. Jonathan worked with ambulance services and fire services throughout the US, including as a helicopter paramedic in Georgia and in Arizona. From active service he worked developing the EMT-Paramedic course and became a lead instructor for National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians in the US. Passionate about critical blood loss after his experiences as a clinician in the Oklahoma bombings, Jonathan has been a close liaison with the US ‘Stop the Bleed’ campaign, and is also an AHA certified instructor in both cardiology and trauma. He is a consultant paramedic with East of England Ambulance service and external advisor to the London Ambulance Service.
Jonathan joins CHT as a person committed to OHSCA and community defibrillation, and also his passion for catastrophic blood control, believing that all communities should receive training in this area, along with the supporting resources to save lives.
David Arnold - David formed the Association of First Aiders in 2003 and chaired it until 2018. During this period, David expanded membership and ran UKs largest first aid conferences providing first aiders and first aid trainers with the latest information in pre-hospital practices and procedures.
In pursuit of standards in qualifications, David started AoFAQ which became recognised and regulated by the Government dept. Ofqual, CEA and the Welsh Assembly in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. David was Managing Director and held the position of Responsible Officer (Ofqual). AoFAQ became one of UK’s largest providers in first aid and EMT qualifications.
David left the Association of First Aiders and sold AoFAQ in 2018. David is currently retired and enjoying life mainly in countries with warm climates.