PHIN is delighted to welcome Claire Whyley and Keith Richards, as new members of its independent Board of Directors. They were officially announced at the company’s AGM this week.
Both Claire and Keith were nominated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), in-line with PHIN’s governance as required under the Private Healthcare Investigation Order 2014.
Claire is a professional researcher, policy analyst and consumer advocate, with a focus on consumer behaviour and decision-making, consumer protection and consumer-focused regulation. She specialises in user-led, evidence-based and impact-focused policy development, across a range of markets, with a particular interest in vulnerable and excluded consumers. She has delivered a wide range of projects aiming to support organisations in putting consumers at the heart of their processes and business planning.
Alongside her role at PHIN, Claire holds several non-executive roles including the Finance and Leasing Association Lending Code Board, the WATRS Independent Panel and the Pay UK End User Advisory Council, and as a member of the CMA Panel,. She was previously Senior Research Fellow at the Personal Finance Research Centre, Head of Research and Policy at the Welsh Consumer Council and Deputy Director of Policy at the National Consumer Council.
Claire said:
“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to help people better understand the healthcare sector and make well-informed choices about private healthcare. PHIN’s work offers a unique opportunity to support patient-focused improvement across the whole healthcare landscape and I’m excited to join the PHIN board and help the organisation achieve its objectives.”
Keith is a barrister, arbitrator and accredited mediator. He has served as an independent member and non-exec director on regulatory bodies in a variety of sectors and specialises in professional / industry self-regulation, equality diversity and inclusion, consumer rights, dispute resolution and redress. He set up the Consumer Panel at the Civil Aviation Authority and served as its Chair for six years until 2017.
He is currently a Board Member at the consumer watchdog Transport Focus, Chair of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) at the DfT, an independent member of the General Chiropractic Council, a member of the CMA panel, and of the Financial Services Consumer Panel at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 2022 New Year Honours list for his work on inclusion and access to transport for disabled people.
Keith said:
“It is exciting to join the PHIN Board at this very important time. And it’s a privilege to be able to help PHIN deliver transparent, accessible, easy-to-use and meaningful information about quality, performance and costs in the private sector. This will give people the ability to make well-informed choices about their healthcare decisions – decisions that in turn will drive improvements across the sector. I am very much looking forward to working with Claire, new colleagues and the wider PHIN team to deliver for patients.”
Jayne Scott, Chair of PHIN’s Board, said:
“As an independent, not-for-profit, organisation working with the private healthcare industry on behalf of patients, having a balanced and independent approach to governance is very important.
“We are very pleased to welcome Keith and Claire to the PHIN Board and greatly value the patient and consumer expertise and experience that they bring.”
There are 10 Non-Executive Directors on the PHIN Board. Five of which are nominated: one by providers, one by consultants, one by the private medical insurers (PMIs), and two by the CMA.
