Meet the
The Hennessy Partnership are made up of a dynamic and caring team. Meet the team members below.
Patrick Hennessy
Chairman
Patrick is a registered nurse, having qualified from Guys Hospital in London.
He has worked for many years managing core and care services for vulnerable individuals in a residential setting, both locally and regionally.
Patrick has successfully led a crisis management team working nationally.
Patrick undertook Business Administration studies at the University of Huddersfield and is a member of the Institute of Directors.
In the last fifteen years Patrick has worked in the area of organisational leadership. His Focus is on organisational business development and strategy.
Diane Jones
Chief Executive Officer
Diane has been a dynamic force in the care sector for the past 32 years as a provider and commissioner of services. She has spent 18 years of her career dedicated to working nationally as head of children’s services and adult complex care services. Moving on to Chief Executive Officer of specialist children’s services and in the more recent years Chief Executive Officer of Hennessy Partnership, specialist adult complex care services.
Diane has a great passion for providing quality services and developing people, ensuring that service users are treated with respect and dignity and living their best life and the teams are given good opportunities to grow with the company.
As a strategic director Diane is excited about growing and developing Hennessy partnership with the support from her fabulous team of professionals.
James Cooper-Stevens
Managing Director & Caldicott Guardian
James has over 30 years’ experience within the private care sector, beginning his career as a volunteer in care before progressing through a wide range of operational and senior leadership roles.
Throughout his career, James has continued to develop his knowledge and professional skills, gaining relevant qualifications including his Level 5 qualification in Leadership and Management. His commitment to professional development has supported his progression from Registered Home Manager to Area Manager, Regional Manager and various Director-level positions, leading to his current role as Managing Director.
James is passionate about delivering high-quality care and believes strongly in investing in people through ongoing training, development and support. He encourages his teams to continually develop their knowledge and skills, ensuring they are equipped to provide the highest possible standards of care and support to the individuals who live within the services.
With more than three decades of experience, James brings extensive knowledge, leadership and a strong commitment to improving outcomes for both the people receiving care and the teams supporting them.
Martin Yeates
Chief Quality Officer & Clinical Lead
Martin began his career in care in 1992 as a Support Worker in older people’s care. Throughout his career, he has gained extensive experience across a range of settings, including mental health and learning disabilities, supporting young adults with complex needs and behaviours that challenge.
In 1997, Martin began his nurse training and qualified as a Registered Nurse in 2000. He subsequently spent 14 years working within the NHS, with the majority of his nursing career specialising in Renal Medicine. During this time, Martin developed significant experience in clinical leadership, team management and delivering teaching and development initiatives.
In 2014, Martin moved into the private sector, working within nursing homes as a Registered Home Manager. He has since worked across a variety of care environments, including complex care, nursing care and learning disabilities, further developing his leadership, clinical and operational expertise.
Martin is passionate about supporting the people we care for to achieve their potential and live as independently as possible. He takes particular pride in seeing people successfully transition from care and support into the community with little or no ongoing support. For Martin, these success stories are something that everyone involved in their care can take pride in.
Martin is committed to promoting excellence in care and support and believes that truly person-centred care is fundamental to achieving the best possible outcomes for the people we support, their families and the teams who care for them.
Martin is enjoying his role as Chief Quality Officer and Clinical Lead. He provides direct support, guidance and clinical leadership to service managers, their teams and the people we support, helping to promote high standards of quality, safety and person-centred care across the organisation.
Jamie Franks
Business Development Manager
Jamie began his career in Health and Social Care 13 years ago as a Care Assistant, supporting individuals living with dementia and those with nursing care needs. He later progressed into supporting young adults with autism, complex needs and behaviours of distress, further developing his knowledge and experience within specialist care settings.
Jamie has successfully completed his Level 5 qualification in Health and Social Care. Following the completion of his qualification, he progressed into management and senior management roles, where he has continued to develop his leadership skills and professional knowledge.
Jamie is particularly passionate about supporting individuals with mental health needs and is committed to helping the people he supports achieve their personal aims and goals. He takes pride in empowering individuals to develop their independence, make meaningful choices and achieve positive outcomes.
Jamie’s experience, passion and dedication to person-centred care enable him to provide strong leadership while ensuring that the wellbeing, aspirations and individual needs of those he supports remain at the heart of his approach.
Stacey Iarmer
Training & Development Manager
Stacey has over 30 years’ experience working within the Health and Social Care sector, with specialist expertise in mental health and supporting individuals with complex care needs and behaviours of distress.
Stacey is passionate about helping individuals achieve their best possible outcomes and plays a key role in supporting services to implement the Pro-ACT-SCIPr Therapeutic Support Model. Through her extensive experience and specialist knowledge, she provides guidance and support to care teams, helping staff develop the skills and confidence required to deliver high-quality, person-centred care.
Stacey also leads the delivery of the organisation’s bespoke in-house training programme, supporting staff throughout their professional development. This includes assisting team members to gain qualifications ranging from the Care Certificate through to the Level 5 Award in Leadership and Management for Registered Managers.
In addition to her training and development responsibilities, Stacey is a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian. This provides staff with a confidential and supportive opportunity to raise concerns, share ideas or discuss issues that may affect them or the services they provide.
Stacey’s extensive experience, specialist knowledge and commitment to staff development play an important role in ensuring teams are equipped to provide safe, compassionate and high-quality care, while continually improving outcomes for the individuals supported.
Dr Cristina Sutac
Clinical Psychologist Consultant
Dr. Cristina is a qualified Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years’ experience delivering specialist psychological care across our complex care services. She brings extensive expertise in conducting comprehensive psychological assessments, developing formulations and delivering evidence-based interventions tailored to the individual needs of each person.
Dr. Cristina uses a range of therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused CBT, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), to develop and deliver personalised treatment plans for individuals living with a broad range of mental and physical health needs.
Alongside her direct clinical work, Dr. Cristina plays an active role in developing and shaping our services, helping to ensure that high-quality psychological support remains accessible to those who need it most. She works closely with multidisciplinary teams and service leads to embed psychological thinking throughout all levels of care, supporting both the individuals we support and the staff who care for them.
At the heart of Dr. Cristina’s practice is a strong belief in the dignity, individuality and inherent worth of every person. She brings warmth, compassion and professionalism to her role, creating a therapeutic environment where individuals feel heard, respected and supported, regardless of how complex their needs may be.
Dr. Cristina is passionate about helping individuals achieve meaningful and sustainable change. She combines clinical expertise with a person-centred approach, ensuring that every individual’s journey is approached with compassion, understanding and a genuine commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes.
Dr Bishnu Upadhaya
Neuro Psychologist Consultant
Dr. Bishnu Upadhaya is an enthusiastic, skilled and well-motivated Holistic, Psychological, Neuropsychological, Integrated, Unified and Functional Medicine Healthcare Consultant . He has more than 19 years experience promoting the welfare of patients, families and vulnerable people. Experienced in providing specialist psychological, Neuropsychological, Functional Medicine, Naturopathic and Homeopathic medical assessments as well as consultations and treatments of direct, or referred, clients.
Using a variety of therapeutic assessments to treat a range of conditions with a unified approach of modern and ancient systems of medical approach ranging from holistic to psychological, Psychological to Neuropsychological, Integrated to Functional medicine, Homeopathy, Naturopathy to Natural Medicines. Dr. Upadhaya was nominated & received for the Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 and 2019.
He also received a Lifetime of Achieved Award in 2019 and 2020.
Craig Cooper-Stevens
Marketing Consultant
Craig has completed a BA HONs in Communication Arts in Media, before a short stint teaching English & Drama in a Secondary School. After a change of career, Craig has worked for the last 15 years in Health & Social Care. Both in the Public and Private Sector. These include Private Care, NHS and Private Ambulance Transportation Service.
His roles have varied starting in IT Administration, Marketing and Estates whilst qualifying as a PRINCE2 Project Manager. This offers Craig a breadth of experience across organisational departments.
Andrew Farman
Chief Finance Officer
Andrew started his career in Finance 21 years ago and has worked in a wide variety of finance roles. He is a qualified CIMA Chartered Management Accountant who over the last 10 years has held various senior finance positions in the private care sector including elderly residential and nursing care.
Andrew strives to empower people in their roles to ensure they can fulfil their potential while always encouraging training and development within the team.
Vickie McDonald
Accounts Supervisor
Vickie started working over 35 years ago in Administration/Clerical positions. Vickie under took further training many years ago and became qualified in Payroll and Accountancy. After having career break to raise her children, Vickie then returned back to college to complete NVQ’s qualifications in Business Studies and Accounting. Since then she has continued work in varied businesses in an Accounts environment.
Denise Cassar-Simmonds
Office Administrator
Denise worked for HMRC for 19 years, she started working as an assistant administrator and was promoted to Administrator Officer 5 years later.
Denise has experience and knowledge with the social care sector as she has a family member who is a resident in a care home.
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