Our annual conference

Sarah Klinger

Medical Director at Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care

Sarah has worked at Peace Hospice Care since 2013 and prior to this was a Specialist Palliative Medicine Specialist Registrar on the London Deanery Training Scheme. Sarah holds an MSc in Palliative Medicine and was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians in 2017. She is responsible for the provision of specialist palliative care medical services to patients at Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, and is the Caldicott Guardian for the organisation with responsibility for the secure handling of clinical information. 

Dr Sarah Cox, BSc MBBS FRCP MSc RCPathME

Lead Medical Examiner at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Honorary Consultant at Royal Hospital Chelsea

Sarah was appointed to a new consultant post at Royal Trinity Hospice and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London in 1998. She is an honorary consultant at Royal Hospital Chelsea (for the Chelsea Pensioners). She is Lead Medical Examiner at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Her clinical work is now focused in the acute hospital setting. She has a special interest in palliative care of non-malignant conditions including people living with HIV and patients on ICU. She has held leadership roles locally and regionally and is currently serving as President of the Association for Palliative Medicine of GB and Ireland.

Wendy Freeman

Care Home Educator and Clinical Facilitator

Wendy has worked for Isabel Hospice for over 33 years. During this time she has worked in various roles managing community services, day services as well as being a Nurse Specialist. Wendy now uses her knowledge and experience in her role as Education Specialist for care homes in East and North Herts. Wendy has a passion to ensure that staff are supported to provide good end of life care for their residents ensuring equitable and high standards of Palliative and End of life care and to offer support to relatives.

Lizzie Pickering

Speaker and Grief Investigator

Lizzie offers Grief Guidance to organisations and individuals, educating people about grief and helping them back to life and work following major loss, from bereavement, to diagnosis, divorce and workplace change. Her clients include hospitals and schools to advertising agencies and law firms. Since the death (in a hospice) of her eldest son Harry 24 years ago, Lizzie has become passionate about changing the landscape for people who are living with grief. Her firm belief is that if grief is faced and worked through gradually, if people are well supported, there is a rich seam of energy to be found in living with it and curating the rest of our lives well. Lizzie’s book 'When Grief Equals Love', was published in May 2023 and is available from book shops, Amazon and Audible.

Leonie Lowrie

Practice Educator at Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care

After completing a nursing diploma in Hertfordshire Leonie went on to work in a local hospice to consolidate her training before deciding where her nursing career would take her. Her first work placement sparked a passion for Palliative and End of life care, and kick started a varied career in the sector. Moving from Inpatient Unit settings to community and then latterly into Education she worked largely with EOLC providers in Hertfordshire. Her true passion lies in empowering care home staff to develop their knowledge and confidence in delivering excellent end of life care. While working Leonie has successfully completed a degree in Palliative Care and is currently working towards her post graduate certificate in education.

Anurita Rohilla

Chief Pharmacist at Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB

Anurita has worked collaboratively at all levels with health and social care professionals and patients to deliver improvements associated with medicines use in different care sectors for over 30 years. Anurita is the Chief Pharmacist at Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board. She has gained her understanding of health and care systems through the combined experience of hospital, community pharmacy and primary care.

Anurita held a variety of Facilitator roles with the National Prescribing Centre supporting delivery of improvements across a region from 2007 to 2012. Anurita has been a NICE Medicines and Prescribing Centre Associate since 2013 and is a Health Foundation ‘Q’ participant.

Anurita is passionate about improving patient care and the safe use of medicines, She provides strategic leadership to the pharmacy and medicines optimisation team, working with system partners to develop and deliver a shared system-wide strategy and operational plan for Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation through clinical and patient engagement, linking with national policy, regional and local priorities to deliver maximum value and outcomes for patients, the local population and the NHS.

Rachel Griffith

Practice Educator at Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care

RGN & BA (hons) palliative and cancer care, currently works as a Practice Educator for Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care. She previously worked as a clinical nurse specialist for Rennie Grove Care and team leader at Helen and Douglas house in young adult specialism in Oxford. Rachel published the characteristics and experiences of anticipatory mourning in caregivers of teenagers and young adults and contributed to Lizzie Pickering’s book ‘When grief equals love’. Rachel has previously acted as trustee and chair of trustees for the Batten Disease Family Association.

Lisa Nolan

Palliative Medicine Consultant at Rennie Grove Peace

Lisa Nolan graduated from St. George’s Hospital Medical school in 2011. She undertook a Darzi fellowship in 2016-2017 which increased her interest in clinical leadership and systems-based change. She gained her CCT in Palliative Medicine in 2021 and provides clinical input across the inpatient unit and community for Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care. At Rennie Grove Peace she is the clincial lead for education and is committed to improving the educational offering for the wider workforce.

Dr Sarah Zaidi

Ageing well Steward Mid & South Essex (MSE) ICS and NHSE East of England Clinical Lead Frailty & Home First

Sarah is a GP and an Ageing well Steward for Mid & South Essex (MSE) ICS; Clinical workstream lead for EOL data and performance dashboard for MSE ICS and is also a Clinical lead for Frailty & urgent care for Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT) for the last 12 years. She has recently been appointed as the NHSE East of England Regional Clinical Lead for Frailty & home first.

Sarah trained and qualified as doctor from University College London (UCL) medical school in 2000. She initially trained as a medic in London hospitals for the first 9 years of her career, then later as a primary care clinician in Southend.

Sarah has developed a special interest and expertise in Frailty and End of life across Essex for the last 15 years and has had several strategic transformation & clinical leadership roles for a Community Provider health trust (EPUT) across Essex, in Mid & South Essex ICB, as a clinical lead member of NHSE East of England Clinical Advisory Groups relevant to Frailty, UEC and the National Virtual ward program and now as NHSE East of England Regional Clinical Director for Frailty & Home First.