Debbie Keatley who has experienced cancer as a patient and carer, as well as other long-term conditions, is passionate about the rights of patients to be involved as equal partners in decisions that affect their treatment and care. Debbie’s ambition is for patients and the public across the UK to feel confident that they can access and understand the information in their health records and can make informed choices about how it’s used in their direct care and in research.
Debbie has worked in the private sector in international finance, in the voluntary sector in IT and training and development, in the public sector in further education and more recently as a policy adviser.
Debbie is now involved in an advisory capacity with many organisations and movements who rely on health data and recognise its importance in research to improve outcomes for patients. This includes useMYdata, Independent Cancer Patient Voice, Cancer Research UK’s Population and Clinical Research committees, National Cancer Research Institute’s Consumer Forum, and the Clinical Evaluations and Trials committee at National Institute for Health Research’s Health Technology Assessment programme.
Living in Belfast, Debbie is also a member of Northern Ireland Cancer Research Consumer Forum and the Council of Northern Ireland Cancer Registry. She is also involved in patient and public involvement in clinical studies from international to local level.
