Denham Phipps

Denham trained as an occupational psychologist, specialising in ergonomics/human factors. He joined the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) in April 2025.

He has a particular interest in the assessment of safety risks and work design requirements for healthcare systems, and in the examination of safety culture and learning in healthcare organisations.

Prior to joining HSSIB, Denham was a lecturer in the pharmacy department at the University of Manchester, carrying out research on risk management and teaching in patient safety and healthcare leadership. Previously, he’s worked on personnel selection and assessment in the nuclear power sector, on systems engineering and human factors projects in the defence sector, and as a human factors consultant in the petrochemical and healthcare sectors. He has also carried out doctoral and postdoctoral research in patient safety.

Denham is an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society and a registered member of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors. In addition to his HSSIB role, he remains a visiting lecturer and is on the applied ergonomics committee of the British Standards Institution, which develops cross-industry standards and guidance.

Last updated: 2 June 2025.