Denise Williams

What does a typical day look like for you?

I work flexibly on the project about a day a week. No day is the same, each varied and interesting. I have been involved in the design work, meeting with clinical teams, working with children and young people, and fundraising. I lead on the school workstream, co-chairing that with Nadine Gooding Hebert, the head teacher of Pilgrim Pathways School, which provides education at Addenbrooke's Hospital and Fulbourn Hospital.

What inspired you to join the Cambridge Children’s Hospital project?

I moved to Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) many years ago and was appointed as a second paediatric oncologist developing the service across the region. I feel very lucky to have had such a rewarding career. I was Divisional Director for paediatrics for a number of years and had been involved in previous plans to establish a children's hospital. These had not progressed for a variety of reasons, both political and financial, so I am really delighted to be part of the project team this time. I feel passionate about delivering the hospital for the children of the Eastern Region.

Share one meaningful or interesting part of the project that you’ve contributed to

I think being involved in looking at how education can continue in a hospital environment has been really exciting. The current provision of space, particularly at Addenbrooke's, has really limited what is possible. In Cambridge Children's Hospital there will be school space on each ward but also a larger school space on the ground floor which enables a wider curriculum to be delivered.

Parents, carers, children and young people have told us that missing school, falling behind, losing contact with their peer group, reintegrating back into their home schools after often prolonged hospital stays have been worrying for them. All appreciate that education will have to work around medical care, but for children and young people school this can bring a feeling of normality when everything around them is unfamiliar and, at times, frightening. It also provides hope for a fulfilling and successful future.

Describe the Cambridge Children’s Hospital project in three words

• Exciting
• Visionary
• Challenging

What excites you most about the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital?

So many things!

Building a hospital that has involved parents, children and young people in so many aspects, from design to how care is delivered. It will be a hospital built for them by them.

Development of new models of care with our hospitals in the region and community services, pathways that keep children out of hospital wherever possible but providing excellence of care if they need it.

Really caring holistically for every sick child.

Having a children's hospital in the Eastern Region that can truly advocate for services for children and can fight for what sick children and their families deserve.