About us

Our vision is to create a society where everyone’s voice is heard so we all receive the support we need for our wellbeing.

Luminus is the home of Healthwatch Surrey

Our organisation

Luminus Insight CIC is an independent, not for profit organisation, which exists to empower people to have their voices heard in the design and delivery of public services; and to help organisations provide equity of access and the best services possible through the inclusive involvement of local people.

We were originally set up in 2013 as Healthwatch Surrey CIC, to deliver the local Healthwatch service in Surrey, covering NHS and social care services. We have now expanded our scope to provide local people with a voice on other public services and the wider determinants of wellbeingand changed our name accordingly.

To find out more about the areas we are working in, please visit Our Work page.

Our approach

We believe services work best when they are built on a robust and inclusive understanding of the perspectives and experiences of those who may need and use those services. We gather insight by listening to the experiences of individuals and communities, building on our extensive networks of contacts and reputation as an independent conduit for feedback. We then amplify these voices by sharing reliable evidence with those involved in designing and delivering public services. We have a particular interest in reaching out to those who may be less well-heard to ensure our insight accurately reflects the diversity of the local community.

By acting as a critical friend to local authorities, the NHS and other providers, we support them on their journey of continuous improvement and challenge them where services fall short.

In addition to our Healthwatch Surrey contract, which exists to champion public and service user involvement in the design and commissioning of local services, we also hold the contracts for independent Giving Carers a Voice, Combating Drugs Partnership Public Involvement, and NHS complaints advocacy in Surrey. This work builds our reach and expertise in understanding what people need and want from services, analysing and reporting this back in a constructive and actionable way to commissioners, thereby enabling people to have their voices heard.

Our values

We are
people-focused

We believe services work best when they are built on a robust and inclusive partnership with people and communities.

We are
inquisitive

We listen with compassion; we care about the depth and complexity of people’s lives.

We are
driven

We act upon what we hear; we are tenacious in our desire to inform and influence change.

We have
integrity

People trust us because we are independent, with a balanced and objective viewpoint.

We challenge
assumptions

We are determined to root our work in what really matters to people, especially those who may find it harder to access services.

Our team and board

Our leadership team

Kate Scribbins, Chief Executive – [email protected]

Kate has spent her career in the world of consumer rights, access, and information, always advocating for those who may be less well-heard, ignored, vulnerable or at risk of inequalities. She spent many years at Which?, conducting research and reports on products and financial services, eventually leading the Which? Research division. Kate then ran her own consultancy specialising in research on the impacts of policy changes on consumers in vulnerable circumstances in financial services and utilities. Clients included the Financial Conduct Authority, Age UK, Friends Provident and the Payments Council.  Kate joined Healthwatch Surrey as Chief Executive in 2015 and has led the organisation through a period of growth and development, culminating in the launch of Luminus. Shining a light on what matters for people, and influencing public services to listen to that, is what gets Kate out of bed in the mornings.
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Lisa Sian, Chief Operating Officer – [email protected]

Lisa started her career in marketing and communications agencies where she worked in client servicing, account management and business development for global clients such as L’Oreal, Gillette and Ford motor company. During that time Lisa was responsible for achieving ambitious growth targets and delivering top quality service to clients. Since joining the organisation in 2015, Lisa has applied her experience in relationship management and business development to help expand the portfolio of contracts and projects whilst also developing the growth strategy and communications for the launch of Luminus. As Chief Operating Officer, Lisa is responsible for the smooth delivery of our services and nurturing an inclusive, collaborative working environment where people are supported to give their best to our organisation. Lisa is passionate about ensuring people are listened to in the development of services, especially those most vulnerable and at risk of health inequalities who may not otherwise be heard.
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Sarah Browne, Relationship Manager  – [email protected]

Sarah has always been curious about social behaviour and human interaction and studied Sociology at University. With a background in Marketing communications, managing marketing agencies for Sony and then as an Account director on agency side with high sales targets, relationships have always been central to her success. After joining Healthwatch Surrey in 2017, Sarah has led our work building an extensive network of trusted relationships with community leaders and connectors, whilst ensuring our team is highly skilled in engaging with
those who can be harder to reach due to language barriers, health issues, addiction, distrust or are just struggling to engage with services. Sarah leads on projects where gathering a public voice is integral, working with the client to ensure we use the right approach and connecting in with the appropriate community groups, leaders and service providers. She also manages our Combating Drugs Partnership Public Involvement contract, ensuring we have the right strategy in place to ensure we deliver against our contractual KPI deliverables.

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Becki Meakin, Research Manager – [email protected]

Becki has more than 20 years’ experience working as a researcher, project manager and senior leader in the voluntary sector. Prior to this she worked in several marketing agencies with clients such as BT and Nestle. She specialises in the inclusive involvement of people from marginalised and under-served communities in research and coproduction. Along with many authored reports about best practice in public involvement, she is an experienced trainer of coproduction and codesign practice. Becki has delivered training and mentoring at King’s College London and for the East of England ARC. Becki was also recognised in the 2018/19 BBC 100 Women’s Series for her work with disabled women experiencing violence and abuse. She is passionate about social justice and enabling the voices of people who are rarely listened to.

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Our contract managers:

Sam Botsford – Healthwatch Surrey

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Lisa Roberts – Giving Carers a Voice

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Our board

The Directors of Luminus Insight CIC board hold overall accountability for all our services, including our Healthwatch Surrey service. Details of our board meetings held in public, are available on the Healthwatch Surrey website.

Our board members are:

Jason Davies – Board Director and Co-Chair

Deborah Mechaneck- Board Director and Co-Chair

Peter Gordon – Board Director and Deputy Chair

Richard Davy – Board Director appointed by Surrey Independent Living Charity (SILC)

John Bateson – Board Director

Maria Millwood – Board Director

Moses Williams – Board Director

Sarah Billiald – Board Director

Tacye Connolly – Board Director

Get in touch

We would love to talk to you about partnering with you in developing or reviewing the services you commission or provide.
Please contact Kate Scribbins or Lisa Sian to find out how we can work with you.
For other enquiries, please use the contact us link below.