Board of Trustees

Mr Andrew C. Swift 

President of ENT UK

Andrew Swift is Consultant ENT surgeon and Rhinologist at Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, and Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool and Edge Hill University. Having qualified in 1977 from the University of Sheffield, he gained his specialty training in Bristol and Liverpool. He has had a long-term interest in the nose since researching the respiratory effects of nasal obstruction for his ChM thesis. 

He began performing endoscopic sinus surgery in 1989, when the technique was new to the UK, and has since trained many surgeons. He is an enthusiastic teacher and has particular interests in frontal sinus disorders, the endonasal repair of CSF leaks and septorhinoplasty. He has organised courses and conferences and was local organiser for BACO 2015 in Liverpool. 

Mr Swift is a previous examiner and assessor for the Intercollegiate FRCS-ORL, a European Board examiner for ORL, Hospital Governor, recent member of Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and full honorary member of the German ENT Society. He was President of the Liverpool Medical Institution 2004-5, President of the Section of Laryngology and Rhinology of the Royal Society of Medicine 2011-12, and President of the British Rhinological Society 2009-2012, as well as Co-President with Professor Valerie Lund of the European Rhinologic Society conference in London, April 2018. He is now the new President of ENT UK.

Miss Helen Cocks

President-Elect of ENT UK

Prof Nirmal Kumar

Professor B Nirmal Kumar, Chair ENT UK Foundation, past President

Professor Nirmal Kumar is currently Chair of the ENT UK Foundation which is the philanthropic and fundraising arm of ENT UK and was President of ENT UK (2019-2022). His full-time clinical role is Consultant ENT surgeon at WWL Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, UK where he is also Associate Medical Director having previously been Director of Medical Education for several years. Regionally, he led the ENT Northwest research network for the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) between 2015 and 2022 and is currently leading many NIHR trials. Nirmal is Honorary Professor at Edge Hill University Medical School where he is UG clinical lead and is also quality lead for the PG MCh & MMed programme. He is a FRCS (ORL) examiner, former vice-chair of the Specialist Advisory Committee in ENT and current council member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. Nirmal is Fellow of the Academy of Medical Educators, Fellow of the Faculty of Surgical Trainers, RCS Edinburgh, Honorary Fellow of Sri Lanka College of otolaryngology, and Indian Academy of ORL-HNS. He is MD, PhD examiner for several Universities in the UK and abroad, delivered invited key-note lectures and orations around the world and has published more than 200 peer reviewed articles in the medical literature.

Mr Will Hellier

Honorary Treasurer

Miss May Yaneza

Honorary Secretary

Miss May Yaneza is a Consultant ENT Surgeon in NHS Lanarkshire. Her special interests are Rhinology (including endoscopic DCR), Facial Plastics (Skin Cancer) and Teaching and Training. She graduated from King's College, London in 2004. She then headed on a North-West trajectory during her training and landed in the West of Scotland ENT Deanery in 2008.

She completed the Dunedin, New Zealand Fellowship in Facial Plastics and Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery in June 2014 and has been a Consultant in Scotland since October 2014. She completed an MSc in Medical Education in 2014 and was President of the Association of Otolaryngologists in Training (2012-2013).  She is the Undergraduate Lead for ENT at the University of Glasgow.  Outside of work May enjoys oil painting and hill walking.

Miss Victoria Ward

Trustee

Ms Janet Legget-Jones

Lay Trustee

Janet started life as a vet after studying at Cambridge, she spent 10 years working in a variety of practice including 5 years in Hong Kong. 

Her career since then has a background in Animal Health Pharmaceuticals, followed by consultancy within her own speciality of marketing (market research & business analysis).
She moved into the Higher Education sector in 2006 working in clinical general management, fundraising and developing marketing strategy for 5 years developing a North Wales Clinical School.
She then returned to consultancy with a contract working for Lintbells as Business Development Director 2 days a week. 
5 years as Education Programme & Comms Manager for Liverpool Health Partners.
Started as Head of Education Business Development and Support for the Royal College of Physicians, now Associate Director for Education.

When not working she sings in 2 choirs in North Wales, runs half marathons, plays netball and has a smallholding. 

Professor Nigel Weatherill

Lay Trustee

Nigel studied mathematics at university and after a short time in industry has followed a career in academia. Initially a teacher and researcher, progressing into management, leading to the position of a Vice-Chancellor, his academic career has provided opportunities to be involved with many exciting projects. These have included designing a supersonic car to leading the UK National STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) project, to Scientist-in-Residence in Singapore and a Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Now retired, Nigel is active in numerous voluntary roles that most recently have included Chair of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Chair of Crimestoppers (Merseyside) and Chair of the North West Regional Advisory Board of the Canal and River Trust. He is also a trustee of the Maggie’s Cancer Centre at Clatterbridge Hospital.

His passion for the outdoors has taken him to remote places around the world, usually in the pursuit of big trout and salmon!

Ms Elaine Hanly

Lay Trustee

Elaine is a portfolio non-executive Director with 20+ years board director and Committee Chair experience across financial services companies and non-profit boards. Elaine was a Senior Partner and former Head of Banking & Financial Services at one of Ireland’s largest corporate and financial services firms. 

She was previously Trustee and member of Council at The Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital Dublin , Ireland’s national centre of excellence for Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology.

She is currently a non–executive Director of Allianz Darta Saving Life Assurance, an Irish-regulated insurance company and Gresham House Investments ICAV.

She previously sat on the Boards of UniCredit Bank Ireland plc, Helaba Dublin LandesbankHessen Thüringen International and a Stanley Black & Decker insurance captive.

She earned her first-class honours BCL from University College Dublin and is a member of the Law Society of Ireland. She completed the Harvard Business School’s Corporate Director Certificate in 2021 and is a member of Women Executives on Board  (WEoB) and co-chairs their EMEA Group.

Mr Sean Carrie

Clinical Trustee

Sean Carrie has been a Consultant ENT Surgeon at the Freeman Hospital and HonorarySenior Lecturer at Newcastle University since 1999. His interests in rhinology are office-based surgery and surgical outcomes.

He is Past President of the European Rhinologic Society (ERS) and the Past President of the British Rhinological Society (BRS). 

He is Chairman and convenor of the Newcastle Sinus Surgery course. He has also served as ENT UK Council member and as a member of the SAC in Otolaryngology.  

He was Chief Investigator of the NIHR funded ‘NAIROS’ multicentre RCT of septoplasty. He has additional research interests in the growth of nasal mucosal cell cultures in vitro.