TVS - TRUSTEE BIOS 2020 LOW RES SPREADS

Trustee Biographies
Linda Primmer, Chair
Trustee since 2014
Linda is Community Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist in Edinburgh, East &
Mid Lothian for NHS Lothian. Her nursing career, spanning more than 35
years, has been focused on Tissue Viability, wound healing and burns
and plastics nursing.
Her experience has been gained within regional centres throughout the
UK and Saudi Arabia. Whilst in Saudi she developed and implemented
the role of Clinical Resource Nurse for Skin and Wound Care in a major
trauma hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. During this time, she was a
member of the TVS and attended the conference in Blackpool.
On returning to the UK she became a Tissue Viability Lecturer Practitioner
for East Anglia University and Kings Lynn/Wisbech Hospital NHS Trust.
Since 2004 she has been the Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist for
Edinburgh, East and Midlothian Integrated Joint Boards. Linda has been
a former Chair & active committee member of The National Association
of Tissue Viability Nurse Specialists Scotland. Linda has obtained MSC
Advancing Practice in Tissue Viability (2009).
Jeannie Donnelly, Vice Chair
Trustee since 2020
Dr Jeannie Donnelly qualified as a Registered Nurse in Belfast in 1988.
After a short period working in London, she returned to Northern Ireland
to work in the fracture trauma unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital, and
it was during her time in this specialty, that she became passionately
interested in wound healing and tissue repair. In 1996, Jeannie became
the first Tissue Viability Nurse in Ireland. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Health
Studies incorporating the RCN Nurse Practitioner Professional Award, a
Diploma in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair (Distinction) (Cardiff) and a
PhD from Ulster University.
As well as being the Lead Nurse for Tissue Viability within the Belfast
Health and Social Care Trust, Jeannie is an assistant lecturer within the
School of Nursing in Queen’s University Belfast.
Jeannie has authored and co-authored a number of scientific
publications in international peer-reviewed journals and has contributed
a number of chapters to books. She has been an EPUAP Trustee and
In 2017, was extremely honoured to chair the European Pressure Ulcer
Advisory Panel conference that took place in Belfast.
Jeannie is dedicated to pursuing excellence in the delivery of safe and
effective care and is passionate about improving the patient and client
experience. She has recently completed the Scottish Improvement
Leader Programme and enjoys supporting all bands of staff within her
Trust to undertake quality improvement initiatives.
Tina Chambers
Trustee since 2012
Tina has worked in a variety of clinical areas including surgical, medical,
intensive care, primary care, elderly care and rehabilitation. She has a
BSc (Hons) in Specialist Nursing Practice (Tissue Viability) and is currently
practicing as an independent Tissue Viability Consultant; prior to this she
was a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Tissue Viability in the NHS for 17 years.
Tina has 12 years’ experience of community and mental health in addition
to the acute issues of Tissue Viability.
Currently Tina is proud to be working with the Tissue Viability team
in Solent NHS Trust and is an active member of local formulary and
pressure ulcer strategy groups in Hampshire. She has worked with NHSI
in the Stop the Pressure Programme as a member of the steering group
and chair for the Definitions and Terminology in Pressure Ulcers Work
Stream and looks forward to contributing to the National Wound Strategy
Programme. She has been a member of the Tissue Viability Society for 29
years and is a past Chair and Vice Chair of the Society.
Tina has a keen interest in sharing and developing best practice in
order to improve patient safety and believes in keeping things simple
and practical. She has sought to find answers as to “the who” and “the
why” decisions are made and this has led to an interest in the politics of
wound care. She has worked with commissioner groups, strategic health
authorities and the Department of Health & Social Care in order to raise
awareness of tissue viability and to improve communications between
these organisations and Tissue Viability practitioners.
Ina Farrelly
Trustee since 2019
A specialist podiatrist, Ina currently works with Accelerate CIC a specialist
wound care and lymphoedema service located in East London.
She previously worked in the NHS for 17 years working alongside TVNs in
clinic while based in a specialist footwear service providing assessment
and provision of surgical footwear for a varied population.
She trained as a nurse in her native New Zealand and then retrained
in podiatry at CIT in Wellington NZ. She has worked in New Zealand,
Australia and Asia with a strong emphasis on biomechanics.
It was while working with TVNs here in the UK that it became apparent
to her the importance of mobility and the links between altered
biomechanics and wound healing. It has become her passion to engage
patients in increasing their mobility and other health professionals in
including this often neglected area in their treatment.
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