NHS

Rob works with NHS and Social Care leaders to help them communicate complex issues, such as HIV and FGM, in a way that is warm, welcoming and accessible to all.

Rob was part of the Heart n Soul / Wellcome Trust team who won the Inaugural Calouste Gulbenkian award (2021) for a project in which Disabled people led their own research. It was a competitive field of over 260 major arts organisations and charities.

Rob was the Inaugural Patron of the first arts festival in England to be run by an NHS Trust. The Love Arts (mental health and wellbeing) Festival featured over 100 artists, working with companies such as John Lewis, Opera North and Leeds Grand Theatre.

Rob has been a Faculty Associate at NHS Research & Development North West since 2015, part of the team who won the coveted NWC Award for ‘Most Innovative NHS Team’. Rob also gives regular communication workshops for other healthcare entities such as AQuA.

Rob was the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Researcher Magazine, an NHS publication read in 54 countries, co-authors, ‘The Friendly Guides’ with Dr Lynne Goodacre and is co-author of various academic reports.

Rob has helped academics, clinicians and AHP’s communicate on a wide range of issues from arthritis to obesity, child self-harm to cleft palates. He has researched ‘sex and disability’ for Channel 4 and 18th century surgery for the BBC. Rob is Special Projects Producer for the multi award-winning (mental health) theatre company Ridiculusmus, funded by Wellcome. Rob’s play about Proteus syndrome, sold out the Young Vic theatre for the entire duration of its run.

Rob was a core team member of the Failure research project at the University of Lancaster. He is proud to be working on a project about children with chronic, complex pain with Professor Bernie Carter of Edge Hill University and is a member of the Somatic Practice and Chronic Pain Network. Our work premiered at Cambridge University’s Festival Ideas returning the following year as a Festival Highlight.

Rob is a long-term supporter of the OT charity The Elizabeth Casson Trust. He is currently working on two commissions for the University of Chester, one of which will shortly be featured in the Nursing Times magazine.