As a clinical pharmacist Dr Ward's career spans almost every medical speciality, from cardiology, respiratory medicine and endocrinology to mental health, care of the elderly, neurology, community, acute and emergency medicine across more than 15 NHS Trusts. Specialising in sleep medicine, her breadth of experience underpins a holistic approach to a specialty where comorbidities and polypharmacy are common. At the Regional Sleep Disorders Centre, she leads the pharmacological management of complex neurological sleep disorders, runs autonomous sleep clinics, and is a prominent member of the sleep medicine multidisciplinary team, making her one of a small number of pharmacists in the UK practising at this level of clinical independence in sleep medicine.
Her research focuses on the genomic basis of sleep conditions, including the identification of insomnia-associated genes through Genome-Wide Association Studies and the study of pharmacogenomics to inform treatment optimisation. She has an interest in exploring artificial intelligence applications in sleep medicine and actively facilitates clinical trials within the service.
Dr Ward has presented at national and international meetings including the British Sleep Society, Clinical Pharmacy Congress and RLS-UK, GP hub training sessions and mental health pharmacy networks and collaborates with Kent and Medway Medical School, Imperial College London and pharmaceutical industry partners to advance awareness, education and specialist care in sleep medicine. She is passionate about progressing sleep medicine across the pharmacy profession and co-founded NSPN to give pharmacists working in this area a professional home and a collective voice.
As a clinical academic, registered pharmacist and independent prescriber Dr Rathbone's career bridges specialist clinical practice, research and pharmacy education. He works at Newcastle Regional Sleep Service and holds a lectureship in Clinical and Social Pharmacy at Newcastle University, having trained across a range of settings in the North East including community, general practice, hospital and academia.
Dr Rathbone's research sits at the intersection of clinical pharmacy and the social and behavioural sciences, examining how people relate to medicines from adherence and decision-making to the evolving roles of pharmacists in primary care and digital health. In 2025 he was awarded the Royal College of Pharmacy Barnett Award, one of the most prestigious recognitions in pharmacy research.
He serves as Associate Editor for Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy and peer-reviews for a wide range of health and social science journals. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, reflecting his contribution to pharmacy education through student-led clinics, work-based learning and physical examination teaching. He is also a mentor for foundation pharmacist trainees and chairs Consultant and Advanced Pharmacist Credentialing Committees at the Royal College of Pharmacy.
Mr Jasvinder Kaler is a Senior Clinical Pharmacist for Respiratory and Sleep Disorders at the internationally renowned Sleep Disorders Centre, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, which he joined in 2018. With a background spanning acute and preventive cardiology, he brings a distinctive perspective to sleep medicine, one that bridges cardiovascular and respiratory medicine with the emerging pharmacology of sleep.
His clinical remit encompasses specialist pharmacist-led outpatient clinics for complex sleep disorder patients, pathway and formulary development, clinical governance, research, and the teaching and supervision of medical and pharmacy trainees at all levels. He is a Clinical Lecturer at King's College School of Medicine and sits on the Research Committee of the British Sleep Society.
His research focuses on the cardiovascular outcomes of restless legs syndrome, the efficacy of novel wake-promoting agents in refractory central hypersomnia, severe and refractory restless leg syndrome management, and the interplay between sleep disorder medications and complex obstructive sleep apnoea. He has presented his findings at regional, national and international sleep and respiratory congresses.
Working within a tertiary paediatric sleep and narcolepsy service, Mr Phatak supports consultant-led care through medication reviews, dose titrations, formulary development and patient education. Around 60 to 70% of children he reviews present with severe autism, significant neurodisability or significant learning disability, many of whom attend specialist schools. This is a uniquely complex patient population where sleep disorders are both highly prevalent and profoundly impactful on quality of life for children and their families.
With almost two decades of experience spanning community pharmacy, primary care, care homes, substance misuse and NHS commissioning, Akshay brings a uniquely broad perspective to sleep pharmacy. His previous role leading medicines optimisation for hypnotics across NHS South Yorkshire ICB, including pathway development and population health approaches, gives him particular insight into how sleep medicines are used across the whole system.