The British Geriatrics Society (BGS) is pleased to announce that Dr Susanne Arnold PhD has been appointed as the next Chair of the BGS Nurse and Allied Health Professions (NAHPs) Council. Amanda Riley has been selected as Deputy Chair following an election by the NAHPs Council. Both will officially take up their roles in November 2026.
Dr Susanne Arnold PhD
Susanne currently works as an Assistant Professor at the Warwick Clinical Trials Unit (CTU), University of Warwick, in the Pain, Surgery and Rehabilitation theme. She leads on both physiotherapy interventions as well as qualitative and process evaluation work on a number of trials. She is the current Deputy Chair of the BGS NAHPs Council and has held the role since 2024.
After qualifying as a physiotherapist from the University of Salford in 1999, Susanne spent the next 20 years in both acute- and community-based intermediate care settings specialising in the care of older people and acute medicine/neurology before moving to Warwick in 2009.
Since taking up the post at Warwick, she has completed an MSc in Research Methods in Health Sciences and a PhD in Health Sciences. Susanne has worked on multiple clinical trials of complex interventions, designing, developing, and delivering exercise and rehabilitation programmes for older people with various conditions including chronic pain, falls and dementia. Susanne has over 30 publications to date and is a co-applicant on several NIHR-funded projects.
Susanne has held many roles at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Professional Network for Older People (AGILE) including Secretary, Research Officer and Chair (2021-2023).
Susanne commented:
I am delighted and feel very privileged to take on the role of Chair of the BGS NAHPs Council. Having been part of the Council as Deputy Chair since 2024, I have seen first-hand the passion and expertise that colleagues across the multidisciplinary workforce bring to improving care for older people. I am looking forward to working with Amanda, the committee and all of our BGS members to build on this strong foundation.
As someone who has worked both clinically and in research, I am passionate about bringing evidence, innovation and clinical experience together to improve outcomes for older people. I want the Council to continue to be a place where NAHPs can share good practice, learn from one another and have their voices heard, while also strengthening our contribution to the wider BGS.
I look forward to working with colleagues across the BGS to support its aims and future direction, and to ensure that the needs and priorities of older people remain at the heart of everything we do.
Amanda Riley
Amanda is a qualified therapeutic radiographer with over a decade of acute clinical experience in oncology. During this time, she developed a particular interest in supporting older people and the importance of a holistic, person-centred approach to care. This led her to join a community Frailty Hospital at Home team in East Kent, where she has worked for the past six years. She has completed an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice and currently works as an Advanced Practitioner in Frailty and is the AHP Lead for the Urgent Care Service.
In 2023, as a Darzi Fellow, Amanda piloted and implemented an Ageing Well Clinic within an integrated care centre, bringing together AHPs, ANPs and Health and Social Care Co-ordinators to deliver one-stop frailty assessment and advance care planning. For the last two years, she has been seconded to the South East Faculty of Advancing Practice as Training Programme Lead for AHPs, working strategically to strengthen NAHP advancing practice across the South East and promote equity in learning, supervision and professional development. She has recently joined the Medway School of Pharmacy as a lecturer to further support workforce development and interprofessional education.
Amanda is committed to strengthening AHP representation across the BGS NAHPs Council and broadening engagement of the multidisciplinary workforce supporting older people. Her leadership experience includes service redesign, governance, stakeholder engagement and community leadership, including a voluntary work collaborating with Age UK and the local authority on initiatives addressing social isolation and fuel poverty.
Amanda commented:
Thank you to everyone who supported my nomination - it’s exciting to be elected as Deputy Chair of the NAHPs Council. I’m passionate about championing the voices of Nurses and AHPs and the unique contribution we make to supporting older people. As health and care services increasingly shift towards prevention, proactive care and community-based support, it is essential that NAHPs are recognised as key contributors to comprehensive geriatric assessment and integrated care. I look forward to working with colleagues across the BGS to raise the profile of NAHPs, celebrate the excellent work happening, and share examples of innovation and multidisciplinary practice that help older people live well, remain independent and maintain what matters most to them.
Lyndsey Dunn, current Chair of the BGS NAHPs Council, commented:
It’s great to see the NAHPs Council goes from strength to strength in the form of the next two leaders. I am absolutely delighted to congratulate Susanne Arnold on her appointment as Chair of the NAHPs Council. Having had the privilege of working alongside Susanne over the past two years in her role as Deputy Chair, I have seen first-hand her passion, dedication and commitment to improving care for older people. Susanne is an exceptional leader who brings people together, champions multidisciplinary working, and always keeps the needs of older people at the heart of what she does. Many congratulations also to Amanda on her election as Deputy Chair. I know she will bring a strong voice for NAHPs and a commitment to strengthening multidisciplinary working across the Council. I wish Susanne and Amanda every success in their new partnership. I can confidently say that the future of the Council is in very capable hands.
