WellChild appoints parent Craig Hatch as new Chair

WellChild has appointed a new Chair of Trustees, Craig Hatch, who has recently taken up the role for a three-year term.

Craig, from Cockermouth in Cumbria, has first-hand experience of the challenges facing families caring for a child with complex health needs. One of his four children, Fraser, has Cerebral Palsy and requires a large amount of daily care.

Craig has been involved with WellChild for eight years after his family first attended a WellChild Mountain Rescue Day in the Lake District. Fraser was later supported in his transition from children’s to adult services with help from a WellChild Nurse. Craig became involved in the parent advisory group for the charity, then became a Parent Ambassador and has spoken about his experiences at a number of conferences and events. He was part of the team that spearheaded WellChild’s #notanurse_but campaign, shining a light on the reality of life behind closed doors for thousands of families. For the past two years he has served on WellChild’s Board of Trustees. Craig is UK President of Tetra Tech, a global technical and engineering consultancy. He is a Chartered Surveyor and a Fellow of both the RICS and CIOB.

WellChild’s previous Chair of Trustees, Andrew Osborne, has retired from the role after serving for the last three years.

Craig Hatch said: “I am honoured and delighted to be appointed as Chair, particularly following a great role model like the previous Chair Andrew Osborne. The WellChild charity means so much to me and it has been a privilege to see the great work they do for families like ours with children and young people with complex health needs. The Chief Executive and all his senior team, together with every staff member I have ever met, are so dedicated to making a positive impact for families like mine.

WellChild Chief Executive Colin Dyer said: “It is fantastic to have Craig on board as Chair of Trustees. His experience of daily life as the father of a young person with complex health needs, alongside his professional and commercial experience, mean he is incredibly well suited to the role. The parent voice has always been an important driver of WellChild’s work. This appointment is the perfect next step in ensuring the voice of families is front and centre of everything we do. Our thanks also go to Andrew Osborne for his hard work for WellChild over the years. His years of service have helped WellChild grow and develop so we can offer help to ever more children and families.”