Sandra Samuels OBE: Championing Health and Wellbeing in Wolverhampton

Mrs. Sandra Samuels OBE RGN, a stalwart in our community, has and continuously made a difference in many positives ways.

Sandra a former NHS Manager and Company Director, became The City of Wolverhampton’s 163rd Mayor and First Citizen in 2022.

Sandra Samuels OBE RGN became the City’s first Mayor of African Caribbean Heritage, in almost 200 years of its political history and only its 11th female Mayor. She stated that one of the highlights of her Mayoral year was working in partnership with over 50 of Wolverhampton’s Schools and their young people, the future custodians of our City.

Sandra spent over 25 years in National, Regional and Local Politics, thirteen of those years on Central Governments National Policy Forum (NPF), the Policy making body of government and delivering 3 winning General Election Manifestos (2000-2013) and four years on the LGA as Wellbeing Ambassador for West Midlands and the West Country.

Sandra a former member of the Council’s Cabinet and its longest serving elected female member,
spent eight years on the Council’s Executive, led and managed Portfolio’s in three Service areas: Public Health and Wellbeing, Adult Social Care/Care Provisions and Corporate Governance,
working at times up to 17 hours per day, as she continues to deliver on her Clinical commitments, as the Operating Theatre Manager in Neurosurgery QE West Birmingham Hospital.

Sandra with her team successfully led the transfer of Public Health in Wolverhampton, from the Primary Care Trust (PCT) into Local Government and TUPE staff members across with 50+ NHS Contracts. She went on to set-up the Shadow Board and chaired Wolverhampton’s first Health and Wellbeing Partnership, following policy change in Health and Care Legislations 2013, and interviewed and appointed the City Council’s first Director of Public Health.

Sandra’s most challenging Portfolio in Council Cabinet was Adult Social Care, as she led and delivered on over 30% of the Council’s overall Annual Budget, while successfully and sympathetically making £2.5 million efficiency savings across service provisions, so preventing expenditure of our Council’s much needed Reserves.

Appointed to deliver on the Corporate Governance Portfolio in 2019, Sandra prioritised and led the team, who successfully implemented the Council’s new policy on Flexible Working, to include benefits for new parents, parents going through the Adoption Process and Foster Careers. She later chaired the interview panel and appointed a new Director to the Governance portfolio.

Sandra was Honoured by our late Queen Elizabeth II with an OBE in 2015, for services to Politics and Local Government, stating how shocked and humbled she was, on receiving her letter from Buckingham Palace.

Sandra chaired and successfully led with her team ‘New Deal for Communities’ (NDC), a ten year £53.5 million Regeneration Project in All Saints and Blakenhall Wolverhampton.

Sandra is a Qualified Enrolled Nurse, Qualified Registered General Nurse, who is Theatre Trained, ENT and Ophthalmic Trained and holds a Teaching Certificate in Nursing. She is a Businesswoman and a very proud Co-founder and one of three Company Directors on the Board of Wolverhampton’s Heritage Centre Ltd since 2012, an African-Caribbean Resource Centre, a social enterprise; a template that should be emulated nationwide.

Sandra stated that, as a 10-year-old leaving Jamaica to join her parents in England, she certainly could not have foreseen her path of life, leading to her great achievements. She is very much enjoying her journey in life currently, traveling nationwide as a public speaker.

It is such an accolade to have achieved so much and such a status in society, having dedicated your working life to your community and country. The journey for Sharon has been extremely tough at times but it is evident that she is extremely tenacious, passionate, focused and driven to succeed.

Barriers are always present in every walk of life; however, it is abundantly clear that you must find a way of overcoming them. Congratulations to Sharon for all that she has achieved and what every else she has planned for the future.