Meet the nursing staff
The importance of our Nurse consultants.
As well as supporting the ongoing development of Teenage Cancer Trust units, our Nurse Consultants provide clinical care to patients; develop research; deliver professional education and have a primary role in enhancing standards throughout the UK.
Teenage Cancer Trust Nurse Consultants
Sue Morgan MBE
Sue worked in the field of Paediatric Oncology for 15 years in Cardiff and Surrey, eventually settling at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds. In 1998 she got the post of Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist for Teenager and Young Adults (TYA). In 2008, she became a Teenage Cancer Trust Nurse Consultant, a title she is very proud to carry. Sue has led a team in Leeds which has developed the Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Service and delivers holistic, supportive care to young people within the Yorkshire region.
She is the founder of the Teenage Cancer Trust Multidisciplinary Forum, and has chaired it for the last 10 years. This group are the very proud parents of Find Your Sense of Tumour (FYSOT) – the highly successful, Teenage Cancer Trust sponsored, yearly conference for young people.
In 2007, Sue was awarded an MBE for her contribution to nursing.
Sam Smith (RN Child DipHe, MSc, BSc Child Health, Specialist Practitioner)
Sam is based at The Christie Hospital in Manchester. Sam has worked in teenage and young adult cancer for the past 15 years and her work has been focused on developing services at The Christie.
Sam is a board member of TYAC (Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer), Co-chair of the TYAC Multidisciplinary Forum and is also a member of the Department of Health Advisory Group on implementation of Improving Outcomes Guidance for Children and Young People with Cancer.
Through experience over time with this age group it is Sam’s belief that all young people should have access to a specialist Teenage Cancer Trust Unit to ensure that their unique psychosocial needs are met and all patients should be given choices regarding where they receive their care. She is keen to involve the ‘real’ users of the health service to ensure they are given a voice in the development of services and co-chairs the Christie Crew, an award winning patient involvement and advocacy teenage and young adult group. Sam has a particular interest in delayed diagnosis and is leading the Sometimes Its Cancer project to raise awareness of early cancer symptoms within schools.
Vikky Riley (RGN RSCN MSc)
Vikky has worked with young people with cancer at University College London Hospital since 1991. She began as a ward nurse where she really gained insight and understanding into the challenges faced by young people and their families when confronted by a cancer diagnosis.
Vikky worked on the ward for over seven years and then took up post as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, with the aim of providing expert education, advice and support throughout the young person's cancer trajectory.
As a result of this role, in partnership with Teenage Cancer Trust and UCLH colleagues, she set up a Family Support Network for young people and their families, recognising that the need for support extends long beyond treatment.
Vikky finds it a privilege to work within this specialised area of practice and though often challenging, finds it such a rewarding and inspirational area to work in.
Louise Soanes (MSc, BSc)
Louise is the Teenage Cancer Trust Nurse Consultant for Adolescents and Young Adults at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Louise is a qualified RGN/ RSCN with 20 years experience of working with teenagers and children with cancers in acute Trusts in London. She was also a senior Lecturer at South Bank University.
Having compeleted her BSc and MSc, she is now in the second year of a Professional Doctorate. Louise is very pleased to be working with Teenage Cancer Trust and is looking forward to a lot of exciting work ahead.
Karen Sherbourne (RGN BSc Cancer Nursing)
Karen has worked as a qualified nurse for 25 years, 21 of them spent in Cancer Nursing in a variety of roles. She trained in Devon, spending a further four years there qualifying. She then left the NHS for two years to take up a new challenge and joined the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corp signing up on a short service commission and during this time saw active service in the first Gulf Conflict. On leaving the army in 1991 she moved back into the NHS and took up a post at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and has been there ever since.
Karen has 13 years of experience looking after young people with cancer in her capacity as a ward based Senior Sister; as a Sarcoma Clinical Nurse Specialist and her involvement with focus groups, Teenage & Young Adult MDT, taking groups to Find Your Sense of Tumour and other organised activities.
Karen is thrilled to be working with Teenage Cancer Trust and is very proud of all that has been achieved so far at Addenbrooke’s, by the dedicated and skilled specialist team, towards improving the care and support given to our teenage and young adult population.
Laura Clark RGN, RSCN, Post Grad Diploma, Health Service Management
Teenage Cancer Trust Professional Nursing Lead/Development Manager (Wales)
Laura is based at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board in Wales, and has worked in the field of child and young adult oncology for over 25 years. Laura began her career working as a nurse on a paediatric oncology ward in Cardiff, where she gained first hand insight into the challenges faced by young people and their families whilst undergoing treatment for cancer and developed her career-long passion for the speciality.
In 2001 Laura was selected to undertake a graduate leadership programme, after which she secured a role as a senior manager for children’s services. This gave her extensive experience of strategic and operational health care management and the unique challenges faced in Wales.
In 2004 Laura was appointed as the Lead Nurse and Service Manager for the Welsh Children and Young People’s Cancer Service and has subsequently worked closely with service users, commissioners and providers, using her knowledge and expertise to ensure that children and young people with cancer in the Principality receive equitable and high quality care.
Laura led the commissioning of the new Teenage Cancer Trust unit in Cardiff, which opened in May 2009, the only unit in Wales. She has since led a team of dedicated and specialist health care professionals to develop pathways of care to ensure the unit supports improved outcomes and experiences for patients and their families and becomes a focus for the development of a world class service for young adults with cancer throughout Wales.
Laura is extremely proud of her new role of Professional Nursing Lead/Development Manager (Wales) and she is thrilled and excited to be joining the Teenage Cancer Trust team.
Teenage Cancer Trust Lead Nurses & Clinical Nurse Specialists
Nicky Pettitt (BA hons, RGN)
After completing her training in Oxford and working in the John Radcliffe Hospital for 18 months, Nicky realised that her career lay in cancer care. Returning home to the Midlands, Nicky accepted a post on the main adult oncology ward at the University Hospital Birmingham.
In 2002 Nicky became Sister on the Young Persons Unit and started to raise the profile of the unit within the Trust, promoting the unique needs of this group of patients and developing the nursing team to meet these needs. During this time, Nicky played an active role in the Teenage Cancer Trust Multi-disciplinary forum, and is now the vice chair.
As the Teenage Cancer Trust Clinical Nurse Specialist for the unit, Nicky is excited about the opportunity of taking the service out to patients whose care does not admit them to the Young Persons Unit, and developing an enthusiastic multi disciplinary team to ensure all teenagers and young adults within the Trust have access to age appropriate services. The unit moves into the new hospital in 2010, and Nicky has played a key role in the design and layout of the new, larger ward.
Completing the online PGC through Coventry University in 2008 has provided amazing international links and created additional sources for information and advice for developing this new role for University Hospital Birmingham.
Nicky welcomes the challenge of the new role, service and ward, confident that the inspirational group of teenagers and young adults she works with will benefit from all the hard work.
Deirdre McGuigan (MSc Med Sci Clinical Oncology, BSc (Hons) Cancer Care, PGCE (NMC Approved))
In 1989 Deirdre started working in cancer care as a staff nurse delivering cancer care to Adult/Paediatric patients in the sole cancer care provision available in Bagdad, Iraq.
She returned to the UK and worked in various Cancer Centres in London over a period of eight years, where she undertook a BSc(Hons) Degree at the Royal Marsden. While working at UCLH and Hammersmith Hospitals Trust she became a specialist nurse involved in the research and co-ordination of Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplants for solid tumours.
Following many years of providing palliative care as part of her role Deirdre moved to Bath to undertake a unique opportunity to implement a nurse led approach for the provision of Palliative Care services to all across a District General Hospital.
Having helped set up the service Deirdre decided to return to acute clinical practice as a part time Paediatric Oncology Research Nurse including part time Visiting Lecturer role for Cancer Care modules at the University of the West of Engalnd (UWE). She continued her lifelong learning ethos finishing her MSc in Clinical Oncology at Birmingham University in 2002 and then took up a post as the Professionals Facilitator in Cancer Care / Senior Lecturer UWE and was responsible for University Hospitals Bristol’s, trust wide provision of cancer education. She graduated as an NMC Registered Nurse Lecturer in 2008.
In March 2009, Deirdre was appointed as the Teenage Cancer Trust, Lead Nurse for Teenagers and Young Adults by University Hospitals Bristol Foundation Trust (UHBFT) and the South West. Deirdre believes that this new post has given her an opportunity to fulfil a life long ambition which is to help set up a patient centred TYA service. She aims to do this in collaboration with patients and colleagues through identifying and valuing good practice. This will also entail enhancing the care and facilities available to Teenagers and Young People with cancer across the South West.
Jan Siddall (MAed; BA (Hons) RGN, SCM, NDN)
Jan has worked for the NHS for 32 years as a qualified nurse; she initially trained in Blackpool and then went on to train as a Midwife in Manchester. On moving to London she did her Oncology training at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Fulham and Surrey and worked on the head and neck unit at the Royal Marsden in Fulham for a short while.
In 1983 she became a District Nursing Sister in Sheffield and developed an interest in palliative care, becoming a Community Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist in Barnsley. In 2001 she joined Sheffield Teaching Hospital and became Palliative care nurse specialist at the Weston Park Cancer Centre there she became much more involved in caring for teenagers and young adults with cancer. The Teenage Cancer unit opened in 2002 and Jan has been involved with their patients palliative care needs since then, including caring for patients in the Royal Hallamshire Hospital haematology ward which also has allocated teenager and young adult beds.
As a newly appointed Teenage Cancer Trust Nurse Lead for teenagers and young adults Jan will be involved in implementing the TYA Improving Outcome Guidelines (IOG) at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and Sheffield Children’s Hospital which make up the Principal Treatment Centre for this region. The regional part of her role also includes planning, implementing and coordinating services for this group of patients in parts of Yorkshire, Humberside and the North Trent region.
Having previously worked with Macmillan Cancer Support, Jan is now looking forward to forging links with the Teenager Cancer Trust and the good work they do.
She aims to use her significant experience in nursing and cancer care to lead a dedicated team of multi professional staff. Her desire is to provide a high quality of care to teenagers and young adults, and support their carers in the region, and work closely with other providers.
David Wright
David is Teenage Cancer Trust's Lead Nurse for Teenagers and Young Adults for the Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Network.
He has been in post since mid June 2009 with the aim of ensuring that the Improving Outcomes Guidance for Teenagers and Young Adults is implemented for the cancer network.
He is based at Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology and will be linking with all the hospitals in the network. David originally graduated with a geography degree in 1995, completing his nurse training in 1999 and immediately commenced work in oncology at the Christie Hospital in Manchester.
David worked on an adult leukaemia and transplant unit for over three years and then worked for over six and a half years on a teenage and young adult unit. The last three years on the unit were as ward manager. David says that his nursing career has been ‘thoroughly enjoyable’ but feels he is most at home working with Teenagers and Young Adults.
David has been involved with Teenage Cancer Trust for many years, taking groups to Find Your Sense of Tumour and is involved with the Multi Disciplinary Forum and especially with TYAC, as its treasurer.
David is currently studying towards his nursing degree and should complete this in the middle of 2010.
Vicki Lockey (RN, BSc hons, BA hons)
Vicki trained in Newcastle and started her nursing career in Cardiothoracic nursing in 1993. After developing more of an interest in the Thoracic side of nursing she moved to the Regional Cancer Treatment Centre after 18 months and worked on an adult in-patient oncology ward.
Vicki took a break and travelled whilst nursing, in Hong Kong for 3 months and then Australia for 12 months, working in a hospice, haematology and oncology or very interestingly, in patient’s homes in Hong Kong. This was a great experience both working in different environments and seeing a bit more of the world!
After returning to the same ward she left, Vicki then took a role working for Macmillan as an Information Centre Manager, setting up a new service, recruiting and working with a team of volunteers.
Once this service was running efficiently and proving a great benefit to patients, carers and families, Vicki returned to the clinical setting to become a Ward Sister. She worked for approximately four years on an adult in-patient oncology ward where she took a particular interest in the young adults receiving treatment on the ward.
In August 2009 Vicki was appointed as the Teenage Cancer Trust Clinical Nurse Specialist for Teenagers and Young Adults in Newcastle upon Tyne and the North East.
Vicki has embraced her new role and whilst it is a total change and a challenge she in enjoying working with Teenagers and Young Adults with cancer and looks forward to what the future will bring.
Lorraine Beddard
Lorraine qualified as a children’s nurse 5 years ago and has worked in haematology/oncology at Birmingham Children’s Hospital since then. She then studied a teenage and young adult degree module at Leeds University and was promoted to junior sister in August 2008 with an interest in teenagers and to oversee the opening of the new Teenage Cancer Trust unit. Her role was also to liaise within the teenage and young adult cancer network nationally attending meetings on behalf of the service.
Lorraine has attended and been involved with Find Your Sense of Tumour on the steering committee for 18months and has attended the last two Teenage Cancer Trust International Conferences. She works closely with the University Hospital Birmingham (Queen Elizabeth) staff, attending weekly multi-disciplinary team meetings. Since the new Teenage Cancer Trust unit opened, Lorraine has been the unit deputy manager and specialist nurse for teenagers and young adults with cancer. She hopes to continue to improve the service and patient experience for all teenagers diagnosed at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
The future vision for Lorraine’s role is to be a key worker for teenage haematology/oncology patients as they go through their cancer journey. Lorraine remains an advocate for teenagers and will ensure they are nursed in an appropriate environment with their peers, with access to age appropriate stimulation/activities and will continue to act as a role model to staff working within the unit and educate regarding teenage and young adult care.
Jenny Labaton (BSc (Hons) RGN, RSCN)
Jenny has worked as a nurse in the NHS for thirty years. Having gained a wide range of knowledge and skills, Jenny became a junior sister in the Children’s Principle Treatment Centre at Cardiff in 1992.
In 2002 Jenny became Ward Manager for the adolescent Oncology/Haematology unit and began to develop services for this unique group of patients. During this period Jenny began to take groups of young people to the Teenage Cancer Trust organised Find Your Sense of Tumour Conference and became involved with outside activities, for example outward bound courses.
As Lead Nurse at the new Teenage Cancer Trust unit, Jenny will play a part in the overall planning, co-ordination and operational management of the unit. She will also have responsibility for ensuring a culture of quality and service improvement, the implementation of research-based best practice national guidance.
Jenny very much looks forward to the challenge and to providing first class gold standard care to teenagers and young people and their families in Wales.
