Stephen is married with three grown up children and is heavily involved in the Scottish Heart Failure Hub, and in the Scottish Organ Donation and Transplant Group, as well as recently taking on the co-ordination of the cardiomyopathy Scottish Support Group. Stephen underwent a lifesaving heart transplant at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Glasgow, having been diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy in Oxfordshire in 2005.
At the time of his diagnosis he was working as Vicar in a local parish, but due to his illness, he took early retirement in 2007 and then worked part-time as a consultant in conflict resolution, leadership training and team building. Before being ordained into the Church of England in 1998, Steven had a 26 year career as an infantry officer in the British Army, commanding an Infantry Battalion at Old College, Sandhurst.
Stephen is passionate about securing timely and accurate diagnosis as well as the very best treatment for all cardiomyopathy patients; and is keen to see such national protocols carried into local care plans.