The Doctors in Distress Trustees
Co-Chair
Dr Chaand Nagpaul
He has also dedicated his professional life representing and supporting doctors having been elected onto the BMA GPs committee in 1996 and later becoming its chair. He was the first ethnic minority chair of the BMA Council from 2017 to 2022, during which time he led the medical profession through the challenges of the Covid pandemic in dialogue with the government and in the media.
He is passionate about the need to support doctors well-being, and was previous chair of the BMA’s well-being support network. He has long advocated for racial equality in medicine; he chairs the BMA’s Forum for Racial and Ethnic Equality and is a board member of the NHS Race and Health Observatory.
He has been awarded the CBE for services to primary care, a Fellowship of the Royal College of General Practitioners and an Honorary Fellowship of the Faculty of Public Health.
His main antidote to hard work is his love of music, particularly enjoying live jazz.
Co-Chair
Dr Jonathan Osborn
He is a fellow of the British Computer Society, and the Institute of Directors. He is a Chartered Director, a CDir assessor (providing quality assurance at the final Peer Review stage of CDir). He has a particular interest in the Clinical Safety and ethical build of AI, and corporate governance. Having been a GP appraiser, together with his own appraisal experiences, he is passionate about ensuring that appraisal is supportive and beneficial for the doctor.
Founder
Amandip Sidhu
Amandip started Doctors in Distress after his brother Jagdip, a consultant cardiologist, sadly took his own life.
The tragic event highlighted the issues the medical profession has around mental health and why it needs to change. Whilst running his own business at the same time, Amandip has built the charity from nothing to where we are today.
Treasurer
Oliver Phillips
Oliver is a seasoned finance executive with over two decades of international experience in Corporate Finance and Treasury. He has held senior roles across a range of sectors, including healthcare, financial services, and consultancy.
His career includes serving as Group Treasurer for major multinational organisations, Director in EY’s Debt & Capital Markets team, and most recently, as the founder of Zenodue, a firm dedicated to providing treasury support to growing businesses and SMEs.
Oliver also has first-hand insight into the challenges faced by healthcare professionals. During his time as Group Treasurer at GensisCare – he witnessed the emotional and psychological demands placed on clinicians. This experience has made him acutely aware of the importance of accessible mental health support for those working on the front lines of healthcare. Outside of work, Oliver enjoys spending time with his young family and is a passionate supporter of all things sport — particularly his hometown football club, Swansea City.
Léon Atkins
Stephen Cohen
Stephen has been working as a non-executive director for the last 9 years after an international executive career in asset management. He is a member of Council at the Health & Care Professions Council and a Commissioner at the Gambling Commission, where he also chairs the 4th National Lottery License Committee. In addition, he is Chair of Audit for two London listed companies and an adviser to the Chair of Trustees at Denville Hall. In the past he was also Chair of the Beacon Fellowship for many years.
Professor Subodh Dave
Subodh is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Deputy Director of Undergraduate Medical Education, Derbyshire Healthcare Foundation Trust. He is the Dean of Royal College of Psychiatrists.
He is passionate about co-production and patient involvement in Quality Improvement as well as in teaching where he has been the architect for the award-winning programme of volunteer-patient teachers in Derby and developed mentoring programmes for International Medical Graduates (IMGs).
Subodh is a keen runner and ran a marathon a month for 6 months in 2024, raising around £11,000 for Doctors in Distress.
Dr Ananta Dave
Dr Ananta Dave is Chief Medical Officer at the Black Country Integrated Care Board. She is also the Presidential Lead for retention and wellbeing at the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych). She has been elected as a member of the UK Parliament Health & Social Care Committee’s expert panel.
She was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2019 to travel to the United States and study the topic of preventing doctor suicides. The importance of looking after staff wellbeing and providing non-stigmatising sensitive easily accessible mental healthcare for doctors and health professionals is a cause close to Dr Dave’s heart, after seeing the needless suffering and loss of life due to mental illness and losing friends and colleagues to suicide.
She is passionate about helping develop a leadership culture which promotes equality, inclusivity and wellbeing of the workforce. Dr Dave has had a life-long interest in teaching and training and is involved in this at undergraduate (Lincoln Medical School) and postgraduate level.
Dr Ali Esmaeili
Aside from his clinical work, Dr Esmaeili has made significant contributions to plastic surgery through teaching and sharing his extensive knowledge. As a UCL lecturer since 2014, he has been instrumental in shaping the education of surgical students, particularly in human anatomy. Dr Esmaeili’s innovative approach to teaching includes incorporating drawing, sculpturing, and tailoring into the curriculum to provide a comprehensive understanding of the aesthetic and artful aspects of human facial anatomy.
Dr Esmaeili’s commitment to excellence and his genuine belief in the transformative power of reconstructive and plastic surgery is at the core of his practice.
Frances Griffiths
Frances has had a career spanning education and training in Africa and UK culminating in a School Teacher Fellowship at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge. Following this work she re-trained as a Group Analyst and in this capacity has had the privilege of co-conducting the first of the groups convened to support the colleagues, family and friends of NHS medical clinicians lost to suicide. This work continues and now includes a parallel group to support nursing staff. She also works with Headteachers of schools across primary and secondary phases of education.
She has experience of charitable governance and strategic development as a former Chair of the Institute of Group Analysis Board of Trustees and financial management in the role of Honorary Treasurer of the Management Committee Member of the Group Analytic Society International. She is currently Chair of Ethics for the College of Psychotherapy and Jungian Analysts.
Nishma Shah
Nishma is a General Practitioner with 11 years of experience in Primary Care. She is the Medical Director and Responsible Officer for a small designated body, The Hurley Group. Her lead areas include clinical governance and performance management of clinical staff employed by the Hurley Group.
In addition to this, Nishma is also a trained appraiser for GPs in North Central London.
Hurley group have experience of “turnaround” where GP practices are closed down with short notice and Hurley Group is often asked to parachute in to provide primary care services. This often involves supporting role for staff, clinical and non-clinical who have been working at the practice.
Nishma is a keen runner, cyclist and outdoor enthusiast, having completed Paris, Snowdonia and Everest Marathons in the past and London to Paris cycle ride for charity.