Val O’Brien
Panel Member
Val’s career has taken a varied path, initially a teacher, then moving into the NHS where she spent 23 years in Sterile Services and General Management whilst also gaining an MSc. She was seconded to NHS Estates initially to contribute to the CJD snapshot survey of the NHS in 1999, and then participating in the development of the National Decontamination Strategy, becoming the Principal Technical Lead (Decontamination) She worked on revisions of various Health Technical Memoranda, Health Building Note 13 for Sterile Service Departments and in the development of a National E-Learning Training program before moving into the private sector. She has been Chairman of both the Institute of Decontamination Sciences and the Central Sterilising Club. Val is also a long-standing active member of BSI Standards Committee CH198 Sterilization and Associated Equipment and Processes and also a member of specific Decontamination related standards groups. Val is currently working as an independent specialist healthcare consultant within the NHS.