Ruth has been with MHCC since its inauguration and has been Chair since July 2018. She has broad experience of health and social care across Greater Manchester.

Alongside her responsibilities as Chair, she is Clinical Lead for Homelessness for the city and Chair of the Greater Manchester Homeless Health Group. She is a GP in Wythenshawe and has a career-long interest in children’s health, including complex safeguarding. She sits on the Greater Manchester Children’s Health & Well-being Board and is part of the Children & Young People’s Steering Group, helping to co-ordinate plans for recovery from Covid across our city region.

Away from MHCC, Ruth is the lead for Ethics and Law at Manchester Medical School and is a Trustee for the Institute of Medical Ethics. Ruth is an extremely proud Mancunian, raising her own family in South Manchester. Her hobbies include running, singing & disco-dancing. 

Joanna joined the board in May 2021 and is Deputy Leader of the council with responsibility for Health and Care. She is committed to tackling health inequalities and achieving the best possible health outcomes for the people of Manchester. Joanna is also co-chair of the Manchester Local Care Organisation and holds a variety of other roles including Chair of the Manchester Suicide Prevention Partnership, trustee of Chorlton and Didsbury Foodbank, Chair of Barlow Moor Community Association and school governor at Chorlton Park Primary.

A recent dog owner, Joanna enjoys going on dog walks, watching Sheffield United when she gets the time and relaxing with her family.

Ian has been Chief Accountable Officer at MHCC since 2017. Before this, he led the Greater Manchester devolution programme as well as being Chief Officer of central Manchester CCG. Ian joined the NHS in 1988 and has worked in the North West for 30 years. The purpose of his job role is to lead MHCC in improving the health and well-being of the Manchester population.

Having cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in his youth, Ian now enjoys running, supporting Bolton Wanderers and spending time with his family.

Manisha trained as a doctor in Manchester, qualifying in 1995, becoming a GP in 2001 and joining the Robert Darbishire practice in Rusholme in 2004 where she still practises one day a week and is a GP Trainer.

It was her experience there that persuaded Manisha to get involved in commissioning in 2007. “I saw the same people, for the same things day after day. What I was seeing was wider than just health – it was the impact of poverty, displacement, unemployment; the challenge we have is in how we can influence the system and the wider determinants of health.”

Manisha took on a locality lead role for Hulme, Moss side and Rusholme in 2014 – looking at neighbourhood working and working with key communities such as Asylum seekers. She has been Medical Director at Central Manchester CCG and now Manchester Health and Care Commissioning since 2017.

Manisha, who is originally from London, is married to an optician and she has a 12 year old daughter called Cara. In her spare time, Manisha enjoys spending time with friends and family, musical theatre and travelling.

Dr Murugesan Raja was appointed to the board in July 2018. He has been the Clinical Lead for Respiratory Medicine for Central Manchester Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) since 2014 and with Manchester Health and Care Commissioning (MHCC) since inauguration. He also leads clinically for Quality and Performance.

Raja is a committed GP whose keen interest is to reduce health inequalities, by tackling the wider social determinants of health. He is a GP trainer for the Greater Manchester Deprivation Focussed GP Speciality Training Programme (GPST) and works with Hope Citadel at Hawthorn Medical Centre in Levenshulme. He leads on improving the quality of Health Care and Respiratory Medicine across all domains and now oversees it in Greater Manchester.

His free time is usually spent with family and busy with activities related to the local church.

Denis has been a GP in Collyhurst for 20 years, at Whitley Road Medical Centre. He is also a referral triage clinician, looking at paediatrics. Denis was involved in local NHS management throughout the lifetime of the former Primary Care Trust and before that as a GP fundholder; he has also been a Local Medical Committee member from November 1992 until July 2005.