Lay Advisory Committee

Non Executive Director, NHS Lothian Board

Dr Patricia Cantley has worked as a doctor since 1988, at consultant level as a Geriatrician since 1997, in hospitals across Lothian and more recently in NHS Borders from 2022 to 2024.

Her special interests professionally include developing Hospital at Home services and alternatives to admission for frail older patients. Patricia writes and teaches on the provision of high quality end of life care for people regardless of setting, and served on the Board of Governors for St Columba’s Hospice in Edinburgh from 2012-2020.

Patricia previously chaired the Scottish Branch of the British Geriatrics Society. Her current role is as a non executive director on the Board with NHS Lothian and as a board member of East Lothian Integration Joint Board. With a range of experiences as a patient, relative and staff member, Patricia hopes to bring a practical and recent clinical perspective to the Board, with a positive attitude, energy and enthusiasm for improvement.

Outside work, Patricia plays the flute in Midlothian Community Concert Band, sings with a community choir and enjoys theatre, running, yoga and hill walking as well as spending time with her husband Roddy and their extended family. She has recently started learning the Clarsach.

"The College has been an important institution in my life for over three decades, from passing my membership exams through to playing roles on various committees. I am finding the role on the Lay Committee especially rewarding and interesting as we bring in a range of skills from people with backgrounds outside medicine." - Dr Patricia Cantley.

Retired Senior Civil Servant

I have experienced a number of advisory and governance roles since retirement, including Chair of Abertay University Court, Chair of Rossie Residential School and Secure Unit, and Vice-Chair Scottish Ambulance Service.

"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to offer a lay perspective to the College." - Mr Frizzell

Director of Community Services with Stirling Council until my retirement in 2005. Since then I have been involved in the Voluntary Sector with a special interest in Learning Disability.

My main reason for joining the Lay Committee was to encourage more involvement and cooperation by the College in working with other agencies, especially Social Care and the Voluntary Sector in order to benefit patients and carers.

My role and involvement in the College to me means raising the profile of collaboration... the Lay Committee has organised two well attended multi agency agency conferences in the last two years.

Ben Richards is the Chief Operating Officer at North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, where he leads operational performance, service transformation and organisational development across a broad range of mental health and community services. He has held senior roles across the NHS with a particular interest in system integration, culture change and improving patient and carer experience through meaningful engagement.

Ben’s motivation for healthcare leadership is rooted in his own family’s experiences of the NHS, which shaped his belief that compassionate, well‑organised services are fundamental to people’s lives. This personal perspective drives his commitment to creating environments where staff feel supported, patients feel heard and care is delivered with dignity and equity.

Alongside his operational work, Ben is passionate about strengthening public trust and supporting clinicians to deliver safe, person‑centred care. Through the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Lay Advisory Committee, he aims to bring a grounded, real‑world perspective to the development of professional standards, education and policy—ensuring that the voices of patients, families and communities remain central to the College’s work.

“My involvement with the College gives me the chance to help ensure that patient and public voices genuinely influence clinical standards and professional practice. It reflects my belief that the best healthcare is shaped by lived experience as well as clinical expertise.”

Dr. Ravina Barrett is the Self-Medication and Reclassification Team Lead at the MHRA, where she directs national policy and international partnerships to widen patient access to high-quality, effective medicines. Her public-facing work at the Agency is centered on the priority of keeping patients safe while reducing reliance on primary care through strategic reclassification—a mission that aligns with the NHS Long Term Plan to deliver more care in the community.

A registered pharmacist with 20 years of experience, Ravina holds a PhD in pharmaco-epidemiology and an MSc in Finance. Her career is defined by a deep commitment to robust governance and patient safety. Since November 2015, she has served as an expert member of a Health Research Authority (HRA) Research Ethics Committee, advancing to Alternate Vice Chair in 2021 and serving as Chair since 2023, providing ethical oversight for major clinical trials.

Deeply engaged with the College’s mission to set the highest standards of medical practice, Ravina serves on the Editorial Board of the Future Healthcare Journal. Her interests focus on addressing health inequalities and illness prevention as essential pillars for the sustainability of the NHS. She brings extensive experience in policy advocacy, using data-driven research to address the wider determinants of health, including digital equity and environmental sustainability, ensuring that proportionate regulation serves as the fuel for ethical innovation.
 

"Being a Lay Advisor allows me to champion the College's mission of clinical excellence. I leverage my regulatory expertise and a decade of ethical leadership to ensure that patient safety, data-driven equity, and inclusive research remain at the heart of College policy and future NHS strategy."

I qualified as a registered nurse, (Trauma and Orthopaedics) in Scotland, subsequently advancing to a ward manager role for several years. I acquired advocacy skills, also as a union health and safety workplace representative (and subsequently in Higher Education).  I read law (at Scottish HNC, first degree and successively, criminal justice and criminology at master’s level). l worked as a Senior lecturer and lecturer, specialising in Healthcare law and Ethics at two HE institutions over a 22-year span. I gained extensive committee work experience including seven years, on the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards (ACCEA), DoH, East of England. I am currently a member of the IME.  

My specialist interest focuses on the Bioethical and legal framework underpinning clinical governance, patient-centred care, vulnerable people, advocacy and  patient safety.  Over the years, I have published several academic works including a fourth edition textbook. Since I retired in 2024. I have been a visiting lecturer teaching on post-registration multi-disciplinary modules, and I continue to write for publication. 

 It is an honour for me to serve on the RCPE Lay Advisory Committee. I am grateful for the opportunity to interact with fellow members. I hope to contribute to the work of the RCPE in improving patient-centred care and to share my perspective shaped by practice as a former clinician and lived experience as a patient. 

Sally Buchanan brings over 20 years of public‑sector experience alongside a scientific background that includes a PhD in veterinary clinical trials. Latterly her career has centred on tackling poverty, reducing inequalities and evidence‑based approaches to transforming public services.  She held leadership roles in Falkirk Council, where she led major change programmes with a strong focus on fairness, dignity and the effective use of data. She led the redesign of Falkirk’s public library service, ensuring it played a more active role in addressing poverty, supporting access to essential services and improving health‑related outcomes.  

Sally transformed the Council’s support for people experiencing poverty, setting up Advice and Support Hubs that refocused resources on supporting those more in need.  Her wider experience includes overseeing the Council’s equalities improvement programme, leading the Support for People service during the pandemic and co‑producing Falkirk’s annual child poverty action plan with NHS Forth Valley. 

Sally has a particular interest in the developing role of public libraries in health prevention and patient‑led care, seeing them as trusted, accessible environments that can widen health literacy and promote early support.

"Being part of the Lay Advisory Committee allows me to use my experience in tackling poverty and transforming public‑facing services to support the College’s work to improve patient care and reduce health inequalities. 

I am particularly motivated by the potential for public libraries to strengthen prevention, empower patients, and make sure that healthcare remains equitable and person‑centred."