Alison is a graduate in Russian who ran projects mainly in the countries most affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Her career was cut short when she was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after her colleagues were killed during her work. The consequences included substance misuse, homelessness, multiple admissions to hospital and identity loss. She resolved early on to put her experiences to good use and in the process started to reconnect with the assets that being a passive recipient of care had frozen. A turning point in her recovery was discovering the power of social media to make her voice heard in places from which she had become excluded. She went on to start her own consultancy after a 17 year “career break” and now advises NHS, housing, and social care organisations on how to work in genuinely equal partnership with citizens. She teaches, writes, speaks at conferences and creates training and development workshops. In 2014, the Health Service Journal named her as one of 50 Inspirational Women in Health largely due to Twitter nominations!
Alison Cameron