Our Team

Paul Horrocks is a journalist and media expert and former editor-in-chief of the Manchester Evening News. He is also a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater Manchester.

His mother was cared for at the Dumers Lane site and when he was chairman of Bury Primary Care Trust, he became involved with the hospice through that role.

Paul said: “I had been chairman of the PCT and we saw the development of the hospice and helped fund the new building. I remember coming here in wellies when it had just been built and we handed over the cheque for the new building. I later had an opportunity to join the board after I left the PCT and there was a big push to get the hospice back on a stable footing after a turbulent time. I wanted to make sure that we fulfilled the maximum potential that this hospice has. We also needed to raise the profile of the hospice and let people know about the services we provide and what we can offer them.”

Deborah Lisle became involved with the hospice after the death of her husband John, in October, 2015. The family were overwhelmed by the care and support they received from the hospice and Deborah has made it her mission to help in any way she can.

Deborah said: “As well as being a trustee, I am volunteer and organise the annual Strictly Best Foot Forward event. As a family, we will always remember what they did for John and for us. I am on a mission to do all I can to raise money for the hospice and raise awareness. I have a passion to make as much money for the hospice as I can and to help in any way I can. It is an absolutely vital service and no family in Bury should have to deal with a crisis situation at home when they could come here. It is about providing dignity which everyone needs. This is the best in Bury we can offer, but we need everyone in the town to support us because Bury is a big area – we have six townships.”

Ruth Deakin is a Bury based lawyer who runs her own company Optimal Employment Law Ltd which provides support to many local businesses with employment law advice and HR issues. When Ruth read that Bury Hospice was recruiting new Trustees she got in touch immediately to express her interest.

She said: “The reason I did this was twofold. I value the opportunity to “give back” and by this I mean giving my time and support to such a worthy cause. Secondly, the hospice has always held a special place with me given my late father was cared for in the hospice where he passed away. At the time, I was a teenager and the hospice also supported me and made sure I received the support I needed. For this, I will be forever grateful. I enjoy being part of a team which makes decisions in the best interests of the hospice and the services it provides. Given how important the hospice is to our community, I know how much this means to so many people. The decisions we make will impact our community and therefore I understand the importance of my role as a Trustee. I am truly honoured and grateful to hold such a special position for the hospice. I know many families who have benefitted from the use of the hospice and without it, they would have suffered greatly. It is therefore imperative we can keep the hospice and all its fantastic services which it offers to our community. In order to be able to do this, we have some challenges to overcome in raising the necessary funds the hospice but I am certain that with great input from our Trustees and the amazing support from our community, we can overcome these challenges and make it happen!”

Liaqat is a retired scientist.  Liaqat’s extensive local knowledge of the Bury Community is proving a valuable asset to the Hospice.  He is also a long standing Governor at Unsworth Academy, is a member of Chief Executive Leadership team of the local authority, is part of the Multifath group (Chair of Bury faith forum) and is a Registrary (out of hours).  Liaqat is also chair of the finance and audit committee at Unsworth Academy and the chair of the audit committee at Bury College.  He is chairman of the Bury Islamic Centre (Fundraising).

He was the multifaith representative at LUAL 2020.

Liaqat said he wanted to bring his experience of working in the community to help promote the “amazing” work of the hospice to as many people as possible.

“I am very proud to have become a trustee for the Hospice, which is such vital service in Bury and has affected the lives of so many people locally in the 30 years it has been operating,” he added.

Dr Kevin Jones grew up in Chester and qualified in Medicine from Liverpool University in 1977. He worked on the Heart-Lung transplant team at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge as a registrar and was a senior registrar at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. He became a Consultant Physician at Bury General in 1990 and then moved to the Royal Bolton Hospital in 1998. While at Bolton he was the lead for Acute Medicine until retiring in June of this year. His wife Liz has also just retired from GP practice in Bolton and they have two sons, Rob and Will. Will is a Health Improvement Practitioner and Rob a musician. Kevin loves sports, travel, comedy and music being a huge Bob Dylan fan.

Nicola has an extensive non-clinical background in the health care sector, and is very passionate about hospice and palliative care. Nicola has worked at the NHS Bolton as Palliative, End of Life Care and Cancer Services Commissioning Manager and is currently with the NHS Bolton Trust as its Corporate Business Manager. Her wealth of commissioning and NHS experience has proved to be of great value to the hospice. Nicola is also a member of the Clinical Governance Committee.

Suzanne is a Director of Nursing with both private and NHS experience over 30 years. Previous to her current term as a Trustee at Bury Hospice, Suzanne acted as our Interim Director of Clinical Services, providing stability and a period of continuous clinical improvement before our current Director of Clinical Services (Sarah Machin) was appointed. Suzanne is very supportive of our clinical teams and brings a wealth of clinical experience to the Board of Trustees and the Clinical Governance Committee - of which she is also a member.

Alison has 40 years of experience working in marketing, business development and fundraising at director level. She has worked with major brands, manufacturers and retailers including Coats Viyella, Jeff Banks and Debenhams, and was Head of Development at Bury Grammar School for six years.

Alison also worked at Bury Hospice for a year as Head of Fundraising, and therefore understands the challenges and opportunities facing the hospice.

Alison says: “The wide range of services offered to the whole of the Bury community by the hospice is phenomenal and I want to help, in order to raise awareness of this amazing place which provides care, support and compassion to so many people.

“I hope to use my skills and experience to help raise the extensive funding required to keep this wonderful hospice moving forward in such challenging times. I am very proud to take on the role of Trustee”.

David Cohen is the Retail Director of Eleganze Ltd, where he oversees popular ladies' wear brands Klass and Anna Rose, which are based in Bury town centre.

With more than 30 years of experience in the retail industry, David currently manages 150 physical stores and concessions across the UK.

A lifelong resident of Bury South, he deeply values the exceptional work of Bury Hospice and is committed to contributing to its mission. David hopes to leverage his extensive retail expertise to support and enhance the hospice's charity stores, furthering their impact in the community.

Outside of his professional life, David is a dedicated family man with a passion for travel.

Jane Stevens is a Chartered Accountant with more than 30 years’ experience in commercial finance.

She has gained a wealth of financial expertise and broad understanding of strategic and statutory issues across multiple industries. Jane has held a series of senior divisional finance director roles both in the UK and abroad for a wide range of businesses, from large plc telecoms, retail and media companies, to charities and small firms.

Jane is an ex pupil of Bury Grammar School and during her time there was a volunteer at Bury Hospice for two years. This experience enabled her to see at first-hand how important this service is to the town. She is delighted to be involved with Bury Hospice again.

Jane became a trustee in 2024 and serves on the Audit and Regulatory Committee.