Vicky-Amiss Smith, Joanna Carr and Emma Goodchild are our Lead Nurses for Cambridge Children’s Hospital.
For International Nurses Day this Friday 12 May, which this year is focussing on the “brighter” future of nursing, we’re celebrating the valuable difference our nurses are making to build the East of England’s first specialist children’s hospital.
Vicky, Joanna and Emma joined the Cambridge Children’s Hospital project in 2021 and 2022 to learn new skills and be part of a world-leading initiative that’s bringing mental health and physical health services together, under one roof.
Watch Vicky and Joanna explain their roles as the Lead Nurses for Cambridge Children’s Hospital
Link: https://youtu.be/Ipr2FU0VSNI
We’re designing and shaping the future of care for decades of children - how exciting is that? To be able to influence all of that is amazing.
“No two days are the same,” Joanna said.
“In the morning we’re often engaging with staff and patients about the new hospital, then in the afternoon, we could be learning about some new innovation or AI technology that will help improve how we care for children and young people in the future.”
The hospital is being co-produced by staff and patients including young people, and parents or carers with lived experiences of caring for a child in hospital or mental health services.
Emma who began her nursing career in Kings Lynn, said the project demonstrates the importance of prioritising people.
She said: “The opportunity to work collaboratively with our Co-Production Champions, and our wider network helps to challenge our ongoing thinking in the development of Cambridge Children’s Hospital.
“I love being part of a project that carries such excitement and energy.
“We’re often engaging with different communities across the region to help determine how we design, build and run our hospital to help provide the best care for children in the future.”
What I enjoy most is being able to be part of something that’s really innovative, that will leave a lasting legacy for our children for this region
Vicky who’s worked as a nurse at Addenbrooke’s since 2003 said nurses and clinical staff are involved in the build of the regional hospital, every step of the way.
“We’re understanding the design of the new hospital, the workforce implications and the opportunities it means to nurses and other professionals moving forward,” said Vicky.
“We’re learning all the time, and challenging each other.”
Joanna who works as a mental health nurse at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) said:
“As nurses we’re able to influence at a strategic level, at an operational level and we’re now involved in designing and shaping the future of care for decades of children – how exciting is that?
“What I enjoy most is being able to be part of something that’s really innovative, that will leave a lasting legacy for our children for this region.”
Planning permission was granted for the Cambridge Children’s project in March 2022.
Established by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge, the hospital is a partnership which brings together clinical expertise and world-leading research.
Built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the hospital will care for children and young people from across the whole region – Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire - but also nationally and internationally, as a ‘hospital without walls’.