Co-Clinical Lead for Food with Care
What does a typical day look like for you?
I am a paediatrician and also do clinical work, so I often fit Cambridge Children's Hospital work around that. I have been to lots of meetings about lots of different aspects of the hospital, the floorplans and designs, meeting with young people and their families to hear what they would like, meeting with other professionals to make sure that what we are planning is the best possible thing. I have also visited the architects to look at plans, other hospitals to get inspiration, doing interviews and writing articles to share our vision, and also working with academics to provide scientific evidence to support what we are doing.
What inspired you to join the Cambridge Children’s Hospital Project?
I have always been very interested in how our bodies and minds work together, and couldn’t decide whether I wanted to be a psychiatrist or a paediatrician!
I became a paediatrician, but through my training worked a lot with children and families who were experiencing difficulties right in the middle of physical and mental health. I have spent many years working in a hospital for children with mental health difficulties. When I first heard of the Cambridge Children's Hospital project, I felt passionately that I wanted to be involved, in order to really promote the importance of thinking about mind and body together.
Share one meaningful or interesting part of the project that you’ve contributed to
One of the things I am super excited about is how we provide really awesome food that is delicious, but which is also good for you, good for the planet and is affordable for everyone - parents, family, visitors and staff. I have been involved with the food strategy from the start, and have met loads of different people - children, young people, families, farmers, journalists, scientists, professors, politicians, doctors, nurses, dieticians, famous people, chefs - in order to consider how we are going to do this. Together, we have produced a really exciting food strategy and have ensured that the design of the hospital can support it. We are also undertaking academic research to support our strategy and writing a manifesto in order to share the thinking behind our vision with everyone.
Describe the Cambridge Children’s Hospital project in three words
- Innovative
- Exciting
- Fun
What excites you most about the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital?
The model of care is the really exciting thing, everyone working together to consider the child as a whole, and as part of their family and the system around them. By approaching the experience of illness in a holistic way, we will be able to get to the crux of what is stopping children function as they want to. With that approach, we can tailor care and support to give the best possible outcomes for children and enable them and their families to live fulfilled lives, and set them up for joy across their whole life course.