Jennifer Speirs

Fonds

Identifier: GD1-147

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Material reflecting Jennifer's involvement in the Brook Advisory Centre, Edinburgh, and the Lothian Health Board Programme Planning Committee for Family Planning Services. Includes minutes, public health information, reports and correspondence. Please note that a further donation of material is due to be added to this collection (Acc19/002). Please contact the LHSA Archivist (0131 650 3392, lhsa@ed.ac.uk) for details.

Dates

Creation: 1975-1984

Conditions Governing Access

See descriptions of each item / file for access conditions.

Public access to these records is governed by UK data protection legislation, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and the current Scottish Government Records Management: NHS Health and Social Care Code of Practice (Scotland). Whilst some records may be accessed freely by researchers, the aforementioned legislation and guidelines mean that records conveying sensitive information on named individuals may be closed to the public for a set time.

Where records relate to named deceased adults, they will be open 75 years after the latest date referenced, on the next 1 January. Records of individuals below 18 years of age or adults not proven to be deceased will be open 100 years after the latest date recorded, on the next 1 January. Further information on legislation and guidelines covering medical records can be found here: https://bit.ly/2CXB4V8.

LHSA encourages the use of these records for legitimate clinical, historical and genealogical research purposes, and records that are designated as closed can be consulted by legitimate researchers if certain conditions are met. Please contact the LHSA Archivist for more details regarding procedures on how you can apply for permission to view closed records. Telephone us on: 0131 650 3392 or email us at lhsa@ed.ac.uk

Biographical / Historical

Jennifer Speirs completed a Social Science degree at St Andrew's University, then went on to complete a Diploma in Social Study (1967-1968) and a Medical Social Work Certificate at the University of Edinburgh (1969). After working in London hospitals for a number of years, she returned to Scotland to practice social work in local authorities. She then moved to the voluntary sector and became Director of Family Care. Jennifer then became a senior manager on the Church of Scotland's Board of Social Responsibility before returning to the University of Edinburgh to complete a PhD (Secretly connected? Anonymous semen donation, genetics and meanings of kinship https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/2649) and a post-doctoral fellowship, where she is currently a research associate in the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (2020). She also provides mentoring to social work colleagues and does sessional work in origins counselling.

As a member of the British Association of Social Workers, Jennifer lobbied for the rights and needs of people involved in donor-assisted conception, and successfully promoted the idea for a contact register to the UK Department of Health.

Jennifer was a founder member of Progar, Honorary Treasurer of the British Infertility Counselling Association from 2001-2004, counselling representative on the British Fertility Society’s executive committee 2004-2010, BASW representative on the board of Children in Scotland 1992 to 1996 and 1998 to 2000, and a Clinic Inspector for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority 1991-2006.