Having qualified as a paediatric nurse from King’s College London, I went on to specialise as a neonatal intensive care nurse and, following this, a health visitor.
Initially I worked with the South Thames Cleft team in 2002 and moved to the Spires Cleft Centre team in Oxford in 2012, following a relocation to the local area with my family.
I predominantly work with families from antenatal diagnosis through to completion of their primary surgery. This involves hospital and home visits, with a focus on visiting all babies born with a cleft lip and/or palate within 24 hours of birth. My role is to teach and support parents and local hospital teams in the safe management of a patient with a cleft lip and / or palate.
I also have a particular interest in preparing and supporting children and their families through the process of alveolar bone graft (ABG) surgery.
I am actively involved in ongoing training and development to local hospital teams; in particular early identification of cleft palate, to reduce the incident of late diagnosis. I am also actively involved in ongoing audit and research within the team.