Jewish Care is delighted to welcome two new Trustees to our Board. Dr Abigail Swerdlow MRCPsych and Dr Charles Daniels MBChB, BSc (Hons), MSc, MRCGP join Jewish Care’s Board of Trustees at the start of the new year on 01 January 2025. Their clinical experience and understanding of specialist healthcare provisions in palliative care and mental health services will be invaluable to the organisation.
Dr Charles Daniels is Medical Director and Head of Quality at St Luke’s Kenton Grange Hospice as well as Macmillan Consultant in Palliative Medicine for hospital and community services at London Northwest Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWUHT). Dr Daniels is Chair of Jewish Care’s Clinical Governance Committee. He has a wonderful and supportive wife, Miriam, and three special sons.
“I have been involved with Jewish Care in different ways for several years. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I delivered clinical care and training for staff and relatives. Over the last two years I have also been a member of the Clinical Governance Committee,” says Dr Daniels. “I am passionate about finding the best ways to support staff to improve the patient and carer experience and hope to bring these skills and experience to my work in Jewish Care.”
Dr Abigail Swerdlow MRCPsych is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the Royal Free Hospital, and clinical lead of the Royal Free CAMHS Neurodevelopmental service. Dr Swerdlow trained at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. She has previously held roles as a Fellow in Medical Education, as an Honorary Lecturer, and has completed a Leadership and Management fellowship at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The recipient of a Rising Star Award in Healthcare, Dr Swerdlow has been involved with the UK Jewish Medical Association for 15 years. Abigail lives in London with her husband, Olie, and three children.
“I am very excited to have been appointed as a Trustee of Jewish Care. I have been involved with Jami since 2019, as both a Trustee and as Chair of Jami’s Clinical Quality and Innovation Committee,” says Dr Swerdlow. “Community services, such as those offered by Jami, including peer support, occupational therapy, social work, and advocacy, are vital in supporting people’s mental health. This is an exciting time for Jami, as part of Jewish Care, to enhance service provision and to raise awareness of our work to support the community’s mental health.”
Jewish Care’s Chair, Marcus Sperber, says, “We are delighted to welcome Dr Abigail Swerdlow and Dr Charles Daniels to the Board. They come to us with a wealth of knowledge, experience, and understanding.
“Dr Abigail Swerdlow’s expertise will be invaluable to us as we go forward to respond to the increasing need for mental health services to those from the age of 11 upwards in the community who are living with mental illness and distress.
“In addition, Dr Charles Daniels will provide us with knowledge and experience through his expert insights and advice on palliative care. We are seeing an increasing number of residents coming to our care homes to receive palliative and end of life care with many more urgent discharges from hospital, we are also working closely with hospices on complex cases to support families at end of life.”
As part of the changes to the Board, Dr Jonathan Shapiro is stepping down from his role as Trustee and Chair of Clinical Governance.
“We would like to thank Dr Shapiro for sharing his knowledge and expertise with us at Jewish Care as a highly valued member of the Board,” continues Marcus. “He has brought an outstanding perspective to our work and his commitment has been hugely appreciated by everyone involved with Jewish Care.”