Christine Welburn - Safety and Learning Advisor
Christine is a registered nurse (RGN) with 18 years clinical experience prior to joining the Welsh Risk Pool in January 2025. Christine was a VTE Clinical Nurse Specialist for 7½ years in NHS Wales, gaining local and national recognition for her VTE prevention work. Christine is the programme lead for the VTE Wales programme.
Sarah Hookes - Assistant Head of Safety and Learning
Sarah is lead for the Safety & Learning programmes. Sarah trained as an RGN and is a registered midwife with 30 years clinical experience prior to joining the Welsh Risk Pool in 2018. Sarah led on the successful implementation of PROMPT (Practical Obstetric Multi-Professional Training) across NHS Wales and has a keen interest in VTE, given it is the leading cause of death in pregnancy and the postnatal period.
Jonathan Webb - Head of Safety and Learning
Jonathan is the operational lead for the WRP and is responsible for the learning assurance & claims reimbursement functions. A registered paramedic with over 35 years’ experience and maintaining regular practice as a mentor, Jonathan is passionate about patient and staff safety. With over twenty years of experience in undertaking healthcare investigations, Jonathan has led on a number of case reviews.
Professor Raza Alikhan - Chair and Clinical Lead VTE Wales Programme
Prof Alikhan is a Consultant Haematologist with specialist interest in venous thrombosis and anticoagulation in the Haemophilia and the clinical lead for the VTE Wales programme. He is Honorary Professor in the Division of Population Medicine, Cardiff University School of Medicine. Prof Alikhan has more than 25 years’ experience leading clinical trials and research and he has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, conference abstracts and book chapters on thrombosis and haemostasis. Prof Alikhan is the Chair of the British Society for Haematology (BSH) Cancer Associated Thrombosis Guideline Committee. He was the UK Chief Investigator for a number of national studies on anticoagulants.
Emily Smith – WRP Operations Support Officer.
Emily is a Welsh Risk Pool (WRP) Operations Support Officer. Emily joined the Welsh Risk Pool in 2025, and her role includes administrative tasks and minute taking for meetings (secretariat) for all areas of WRP. Emily is the operations support officer for the VTE Wales programme and provides support for the VTE Wales board meetings.