Westbank’s newest trustee brings wealth of health service experience

Westbank Community Health and Care’s newest trustee, semi-retired health worker Pam Smith, has attended her first board meeting for the charity this month.

70-year-old Pam, from Alphington in Exeter, has worked in senior health service management roles for more than 20 years, including as a PCT Chief Executive. Since 2013 she has worked on a freelance basis supporting general practice, latterly mostly in Cornwall, working through a provider owned by all the GP practices in the county. Pam has previously chaired a small local dyslexia charity and is looking forward to supporting the growth and development of the many services Westbank offers.

Pam says, “As I still carry out work for the health service, I have a current understanding of how it operates and how it commissions services, which I hope will be of real benefit to Westbank Community Health and Care. I have long been aware of Westbank in a professional capacity and have always admired the charity for the work it does. However, since becoming a trustee, I have been amazed to discover the full range of services the charity provides; within its building at Exminster and across the wider community, there are up to a dozen activities on offer on any given day, which meet so many different needs at grassroots level.”

Pam adds, “Westbank’s Carers services across Devon are a real lifeline for unpaid carers and a prime example of how Third Sectors organisations are increasingly picking up services that the health and social care sector can no longer provide. I’m enthusiastic about working with the voluntary sector, and I’m at a stage in my life when I have the time to do more and give something back.”