Dr Peter Smith (Chair & Trustee)
Peter was for over 30 years a GP partner at Haxby Group Practice near York where his medical interests lay in Paediatrics and teaching of Medical Students. He was an examiner both for the British Diploma of Child Health and for Hull York Medical School. He was also a GP trainer and actively involved in the York GP training scheme. He trained over 35 GP trainees in his career as a trainer. The practice also founded three surgeries in Hull as part of a government initiative to provide medical services for patients in areas of deprivation. He was Medical Director of this initiative.
In 2012 he visited Eastern Uganda as a Medical Volunteer and found busy clinics without any medical records. As a result of lack of information and demographic awareness patient care was clearly compromised. Along with Bass Stewart, owner of Onyx ICT Ltd, he developed the electronic medical record system and co-founded OutreachEMR.
He has visited Uganda on 10 further occasions and there are now eight established record systems in operation in that country. He has also travelled to Nicaragua and trained staff at the clinic at Salinas.
Graham Millar (Treasurer & Trustee)
Graham Millar FCA spent most of his career in the branded food industry. In general management he had successive jobs as MD of Rowntree’s business in South Africa, of Nestle Rowntree in the UK and then Nestlé’s UK Food business. Toward the end of his career, he took on the role of Group Finance Director of Nestle in UK and Ireland where he played a key part in restructuring the overall business.
Graham has, throughout his career, had a strong commitment to and involvement in the community and since his retirement has been able to indulge this interest. He is Chairman of St Leonard’s Hospice and of a governance committee at the University of York. He is heavily involved with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, where he is a trustee of both and Chairman of the JRHT Board. He works extensively with York Minster and in addition he is a member of the Guild of Merchant Taylors in York and its Master in 2011/12. He is a member of York Civic Trust and was its Chairman for a number of years.
His leisure interests include sport (doing and viewing), walking, reading and theatre.
Gail Tams (Trustee)
Gail has over 25 years’ experience in the non-profit and voluntary sector working in the field of family support. She has served as an independent member on both the North Yorkshire and the York Adoption Panels. Gail is currently Independent Chair of an Advisory Board for a York Children’s Centre and a trustee on the York Children’s Trust and the York Dispensary Trust.
Gail has visited the clinic in Bumwalukani Uganda, with her husband Bill who was working there as a doctor. During her time there, she helped set up some health clubs in primary schools, gave motivational training to local volunteers and took part in outreach work.
Given her background and experience, Gail’s primary area of interest lies with the health and well-being of children and their carers. She firmly believes that small measures can make a difference and has witnessed at first-hand how the provision of a simple computer System can impact on people’s lives and communities in a positive way. By providing continuity of care for individuals and the ability to identify localised outbreaks of illness we can giving people something we take so much for granted in our world.
Bass Stewart
Bass Stewart is the owner of Onyx ICT ltd, a software development & IT support company with bases in North Yorkshire & Lancashire.
Graduating from The London School of Economics, Bass has worked in the IT sector since 1991, first of all selling complex Systems to UK blue chips and then starting Onyx with his brother in 1996. Onyx now advises SoHo/SME businesses on all matters relating to IT but specialises in the development of custom software solutions, but also acts as a strategy consultant, and procures, configures, maintains & supports office server and network Systems.
As a co-founder of OutreachEMR with Dr Peter Smith, Bass brings essential strategy and development expertise. He considers this his most important work to date.
Dr Bill Tams
Bill worked for 36 years, in the NHS, as a family doctor and senior partner. He is particularly committed to the speciality of primary care medicine and taught medical students and postgraduates.
Senior partner responsibilities involved running an 8 Dr practice with 25 staff and 15,000 patients. Working to deadlines, ensuring the practice achieved Govt financial and clinical targets.
Senior partner responsibilities involved running an 8 Dr practice with 25 staff and 15,000 patients. Working to deadlines, ensuring the practice achieved Govt financial and clinical targets.
He has been involved with EMR4DW from the beginning visiting Uganda, with his wife Gail embedding the system in our first clinics. He has made 6 further visits to Uganda and Kenya assessing new clinics and advising and training at others. He also helps maintain close ties with the Uganda UK Health Alliance in Kampala.
As Clinical Advisor to OutreachEMR his role is changing. Being the named contact for individual clinics he remotely supports staff from initial enquiry to installation and beyond. He developed the role of OutreachEMR Uganda Clinic support Ambassador and supports Julius O'kello in this position. He chairs the system development committee continually responding to user feedback and IT changes. He enthusiastically promotes EMR4DW as widely as possible.
Dr Elizabeth Fowler
Dr Elizabeth Fowler graduated with an MbChB from Aberdeen in 1981 and then worked at York District Hospital before joining a General Practice in York. She worked 'part time' as a GP till 2012 alongside raising her family of 3 children. The practice was on the leading edge in adopting computerised records and in time becoming 'paperless'.
Elizabeth enjoyed the holistic care of all patients in Practice but had a Special Clinical Interest in Women's and Children's Health. Other roles Elizabeth took on were Medical student teaching and GP appraisals.
Elizabeth has been fully involved in local community life - volunteering as a school governor for 15 + years, playing saxophone and clarinet in 2 local bands and more recently becoming an independent member then vice-chair of North Yorkshire adoption panel.
Elizabeth has had the opportunity to be involved with health care in Kenya and Ghana as well as making regular trips to Uganda. She is enthusiastic about the difference Electronic Medical Records can make in clinics both for individual care and follow up and also to look at disease patterns in communities. Elizabeth supports clinics as they adopt the System.
Helen Smith
Helen Smith spent most of her working life as a manager in the NHS but also has teaching experience in adult education. In the NHS she worked as a Chief Executive in a Primary Care Group and held senior posts in Workforce Development and Education.
Helen has visited Uganda on three occasions, the second helping to install the medical records System and train staff, as well as initiating a project to set up health clubs in local schools.
Margaret Millar
Margaret has been involved in education in York for over thirty years, she was a primary school teacher and also worked for ten years with children with special needs, both mental and physical. She has been a school governor for fifteen years and is also a member of the Education Committee of the York Civic Trust.
Margaret has been actively involved in charity fundraising for many years working with cancer charities and the Wilberforce Trust. In 2010 she trained as a bereavement support worker and is based at St Leonard’s Hospice.
Dr Peter Burnett
Dr Peter Burnett qualified from St Bartholomew’s Medical School in 1973. In 1978 he became a partner in a large semi-rural general practice, eventually becoming the managing partner. He retired in 2010. He represented local GPs on various committees and worked as a GP assessor.
He was the Secretary of York Medical Society for six years and was a primary school governor. With an interest in terminal care, he was Chairman of the Development Committee that designed and built York’s St. Leonard’s Hospice.'
Mark Fowler
Mark trained as a biologist with a degree from the University of Oxford. He spent his career in various scientific & technical functions in the food industry. The early part of his career involved forecasting the cocoa crop in West Africa and, subsequently, a cocoa quality improvement project at farmer level in the Ivory Coast. He has travelled extensively in developing countries and is keen to support their development through means such as providing opportunities and training, fairer trade and by eliminating inequalities.
At home Mark enjoys sailing and he volunteers at his local sailing club leading the training (teaching beginners to sail dinghies).
He visits Uganda regularly with his wife, Elizabeth, to support the charity by carrying out training, assisting with system upgrades, solving problems and recruiting new health centres.
Julius Peter O’Kello
Whilst not a committee member, Julius is our Independent IT Specialist and Ambassador in Uganda.
He is the HMIS focal person for Namisindwa Health District Uganda and Arlington Academy of Hope in Bududa. We first met Julius when he worked as data manager AAH at Matuwa clinic. He relished the benefits that EMR4DW software gave to the staff and patients. As our clinics in the Mbale area increased we began working with him as an independent consultant IT specialist.
He graduated from University in Kampala and he is now often the first port of call for local clinics needing advice and staff training. He is an important link with our IT team and liaising with the Ugandan e-health committee.
Rex Parry
Rex qualified as a solicitor over 30 years ago and and has spent his career advising businesses on transactions involving technology. After 20 years with a major law firm, Rex started a consultancy business which provides advice on transactions involving technology.
Dr David Longworth
David graduated from Edinburgh Medical School in 1985 and is a currently working part-time as a General Practitioner in a semi-rural NHS practice in North Yorkshire. He spent twenty years in a GP partnership in Malton, North Yorkshire where he worked as lead partner and also provided clinical support to a local Community Hospital. He has experience as a GP trainer and is currently an honorary senior lecturer at Hull and York Medical School.