Police Care UK, which supports police officers harmed during their service, has appointed a former police cadet and forensic medical experts as its next chief executive.

Professor Renata Gomes joins in March from Blind Veterans UK Group, where she was its chief scientific officer.

She is also professor of veterans’ health and biomedical research at Northumbria University and spent a year as cardiovascular principal investigator for the British Council’s UK-Israel Program.

Gomes replaces Gill Scott-Moore who left the charity last year after almost a decade as CEO.

“We are delighted Renata is joining us as our new CEO,” said Police Care UK chair Derek Ray-Hill.

“As an independent charity, Police Care UK’s long-term future is in augmenting and innovating solutions to police trauma in a way that government and public services cannot.

“Renata’s experience in clinical matters, science, entrepreneurship, advocacy, and business management is the ideal combination to deliver this.

“She will take Police Care UK forward to expand our capabilities and ensure we are at the forefront of combating stress and trauma in policing.”

BREAKING NEWS: Ambitious new Chief Executive Officer Renata Gomes wants to make Police Care UK a leading force for change in tackling the impact of trauma in UK policing, following her appointment today.#NewCEO #MentalHealthMatters #PTSDAwareness pic.twitter.com/eyEnttVpeI

— Police Care UK (@policecareuk) February 26, 2024

Gomes added: “The role comes with great responsibility - police often have lifelong careers and live where they work, so ensuring they have a strong state of health and wellbeing is vital.

“Over the years my family and I have received fantastic support from the police for which I’m grateful and thankful. Whatever happens in life we know we can turn to the police for help.

“I want Police Care UK to become the powerhouse for understanding police trauma and restoring lives through evidence-based research and innovation. By doing so, I know we can make fundamental change to the debilitating impact of trauma in policing.”

Police Care UK launched almost 100 years ago to offer emotional, practical and financial support to officers harmed in service. This includes offering counselling, and educational bursaries.

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