Sue Bagshaw

Bagshaw was born in Hong Kong on 30 September 1949. She grew up there and attended a Church of England girls' boarding school. Bagshaw studied at the University of London, where she obtained a BSc degree Cum Laude in Biochemistry in 1971 and subsequently an MB BS degree in 1974.[3][4] She moved to Christchurch, New Zealand, in the early 1980s. She initially worked for the Family Planning Association to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services for young women by expanding the number of clinics in the South Island. However she found that young people were too embarrassed or shy to attend the clinics and instead she designed a "one-stop shop" model, which provided a range of health services in one place.[2]

In 1995, Bagshaw established a youth health centre in central Christchurch that offered free doctor's appointments, counselling and addiction support services for young people.[2] The centre closed in 2010 due to a lack of funding. In 2012 she opened a replacement youth hub in Barbadoes Street, which brought together 16 youth organisations in one facility.[1][2]

Bagshaw is a senior lecturer in paediatrics at the University of Otago in Christchurch and is the chair of the Korowai Youth Well-Being Trust and a trustee for the Collaborative for Research and Training in Youth Health and Development, which she founded. She serves on the board of the Canterbury Charity Hospital Trust.[5]