Meet the Speakers
Session 1:
Dr Manjula Meda, Consultant Clin Microbiologist and IPC Dr, Frimley Park NHS Foundation Trust, Chair of HIS
Dr Manjula Meda is a consultant in Clinical Microbiology and the Infection Control Doctor for Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust. Manjula also serves as the current Chair of the Healthcare Infection Society (HIS). She has represented HIS in various committees and national and international programmes. She is involved actively in research in infection prevention and control (IPC) and works as a research collaborator in various projects, as well in supporting clinical and IPC research within Frimley Health. She has a special interest in in IPC in the built environment, especially around water and wastewater safety. She has managed many large IPC incidents and outbreaks and published widely in this field and helped establish a holistic approach to water and wastewater safe environments (WAVE) in healthcare, in Intensive care and across multiple areas of the hospital including general wards and neonatal units to combat AMR and other healthcare acquired infections. She has led the development of the water and wastewater course in healthcare @HIS, and co-founded BEIPI (Bulit Environment Infection Prevention Initiative).
George McCraken, Head of Estates Risk and Environment, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
George McCracken is a Chartered Construction Engineer with more than 30 years’ experience in healthcare estates, engineering, and risk management. He began his career in production and manufacturing engineering, working in cable manufacturing, steam plant, and foundry operations, before joining the Health Service as a Hospital Engineer. He progressed through senior engineering roles to become a specialist leader in estates risk and environmental management.
He holds a First Class Honours Degree in Construction Engineering & Management, is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Building, and an associate member of IHEEM. George has contributed extensively to national standards as a British Standards Institution committee member, including the update of HTM 04‑01, and multiple technical guidance documents on water hygiene. He is currently assisting with the development of design guides to support contractors and enhance the performance of new‑build healthcare facilities. George has also delivered environmental initiatives focused on advancing sustainability technologies and reducing healthcare inequalities across Northern Ireland.
Dr Micheal Weinbren, Consultant Clin Microbiologist and IPC Dr, Advisor New Hospitals Programme
"I am a consultant microbiologist and infection control doctor with an interest in the built environment particularly around water and wastewater systems and antimicrobial resistance. I am the author of several papers on this topic, have been part of the team producing national guidance on water safety and an author of a book called 'safe water in healthcare'."
Session 2:
Professor John Cuddihy
Professor John Cuddihy is a patient advocate, healthcare governance advisor and patient safety campaigner. He carries forward the legacy of his late daughter Molly, whose lived experience demonstrated the profound effect that hospital environments can have on safety, dignity, care and family wellbeing. His advocacy connects the human consequences of built environment failures with the need for leadership , accountability, infection prevention and genuinely patient centred hospital design.
Session 3:
Mike Dunne, Stantec UK Limited
Mike is a Chartered Engineer, Member of CIBSE and Fellow of IHEEM. With over 20 years’ engineering experience, including 16 years delivering complex healthcare projects across three continents. He is a recognised specialist in ultra-clean ventilation (UCV) operating theatres and has extensive expertise in the design, validation, verification and assurance of critical ventilation systems, controls, and BMS integration.
As an Authorising Engineer (Ventilation) for several NHS Trusts and a major private healthcare provider, Mike provides independent technical leadership and governance across the full project lifecycle, from strategic planning and design through to construction, commissioning, validation, and operation. He has overseen significant capital investment programmes, working closely with Tier 1 contractors, consultants, and estates teams to deliver complex acute healthcare infrastructure.
Alongside his technical responsibilities, Mike leads and develops engineering teams, supports professional registration through IHEEM and the Engineering Council, lectures within higher education and regularly presents at national and international conferences. He is recognised for combining technical excellence, sound engineering judgement, and strong stakeholder engagement to improve healthcare engineering performance and patient safety.
Session 4:
Dr Colin Brown, Deputy Director, Clinical and Emerging Infections, UKHSA, UK
Colin Brown is an Infectious Disease & Medical Microbiology clinician working at UK Health Security Agency on a portfolio of clinical and emerging infection, healthcare associated infection (HCAI), antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and global health. His time is currently split between treating patients with clinical infections (including high consequence) at the Royal Free Hospital in London, leading on domestic infection policy on AMR & HCAI as Deputy Director of the Epidemic & Emerging Infections and Head of the AMR & HCAI Division. He is co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference & Research on AMR and HCAI, and UKHSA Lead for the University of Oxford NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in HCAI and AMR.