The working group consists of: Paula-Ann Bailey, Naomi Heller, Emily Titherington, and Cheryl Githinji
Please briefly describe your clinical/medical experience to date?
Paula-Ann: I have been working in paediatrics since 2012 and began to specialise in paediatric palliative medicine in 2017. I am currently working as a
specialist in paediatric palliative medicine at Keech hospice in Luton. I work as outreach for the RAAFT team in Addenbrookes hospital, so my on-call
responsibility is for all children in the East of England network who are under palliative care services.
Naomi: I qualified with MBHChB in 2014 and began my paediatric specialty training in 2018, after completing a post-graduate diploma in Paediatric
Palliative Medicine at The University of Cape Town. I currently work as Paediatric Palliative Medicine Sub-Specialty Trainee with Leeds Teaching
Hospital Trust and Martin House Hospice – we cover a large geographical area of Yorkshire and Humberside providing 24/7 paediatric palliative medicine support.
Emily: I qualified in 2012 and began my paediatric training in 2014. I started my paediatric palliative medicine subspecialty training in 2023, and this training has been split across 3 different centres, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Marsden Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital. I completed my paediatric training in September this year (a week ago in fact) and am due to start my first consultancy role at Cambridge University Hospital in the RAAFT team.
Cheryl: I graduated from medical school 13 years ago and after completing foundation training, I chose to pursue a career in paediatrics as it had always been my dream. I have worked in paediatrics since 2017 and following placements in paediatric respiratory medicine and oncology, I explored a
career in paediatric palliative medicine having realised my strengths and interests lie in a specialty that required generalist skills, but I also welcomed
the challenge of caring for seriously ill children. I am currently completing my subspecialty training in paediatric palliative medicine at the Evelina London and the Royal Marsden Hospitals.
What motivated you to enter paediatric care in the first place?
Paula-Ann: I have always loved the company of children and knew I wanted a career where I would be lucky enough to interact with them on a daily basis. Children are so inherently joyful that even in really difficult circumstances they will often do their best to play and make the most of their time. It is such a privilege to be let into their lives to try and make things a bit easier for them, and I learn so much from all the children and families I care for.
Naomi: My motivation for entering paediatric care is grounded in advocacy, and I am drawn to ways we can facilitate young people to have a voice in their health and care. When I was a child, and into my young adulthood, I was part of a youth organisation, The Woodcraft Folk, and one central tenet of their work is “Education for Social Change” which describes their aim to support children to learn how to be active participants in their community, and gives children and young people the skills to develop their agency, and appreciate their role both as individuals and as part of a wider collective. Advocacy for me means creating a space for children (and the people who know them best) to shape decisions that affect care, and is a key part of my drive to work in paediatric palliative medicine.
Emily: I honestly have never been able to imagine working in any other specialty! Children are inspiring in how they approach and manage unbearable
circumstances. I have a clinical psychology background and the interplay between body and mind in paediatrics is fascinating and so important to acknowledge to ensure you can provide the best care for that child and their caregiver. Paediatric palliative care as a specialty feed into both my interests and skill set and in itself motivates me to want to drive the specialty forward.
Cheryl: I pursued a career in paediatrics by mostly being inspired by my own paediatrician as a child growing up in Kenya. I loved that she got to care for children and made such an impact on their lives. Over the years, having volunteered at children’s homes, worked in paediatric hospitals in East and Southern Africa, as well as having had a foundation placement in paediatrics, I realised that I preferred the working dynamic on paediatric wards compared to the wider general, adult hospitals. I am motivated to be an advocate for children and young people, and enjoy the challenge of working with their wider families and the more holistic approach to medicine. In addition, children are always a joy to work with, and the friendliness and warmth found on paediatric wards makes me appreciate going into work a chore even when caring for seriously ill children.
How will the funding from The Evie Dove Foundation help you to advance your career and your impact/services to children?
Paula-Ann: This is my first opportunity to attend an international conference and learn from a wide network of professionals about the latest developments in my field. Paediatric palliative medicine is a small speciality that is still learning and growing so it will be fantastic to come across new ideas and think about how to integrate them into my practice locally and across the region. I am hopeful that this learning could impact a wide range of children and their families.
Naomi: The funding from The Evie Dove Foundation will enable me to travel to Rome to present our work to an international paediatric palliative medicine audience. Our work as ‘Paediatric palliative care and society’ is in its infancy, but our work aims to advance services by improving inclusion, celebrating diversity, and removing barriers to equitable care for young people and their families. Presenting at this level offers an opportunity to gain international perspectives, learning from other professionals and services and receiving feedback that will improve our service and my own personal development.
Emily: Paediatric palliative medicine is a growing speciality and there is so much more to learn and so much more to understand. Being relatively in its
infancy as a speciality, I think international working and knowledge sharing is vital, especially with so many clinicians working in silos. Attending an
international conference would provide an incredible learning opportunity for myself to help support me to “be better”. It also provides an opportunity for us to share our work with Paediatric Palliative Care and Society and allow us a platform to open the discussion around addressing inequities, which should not, but do exist in palliative care.
Cheryl: The funding will allow us to attend the 7th Maruzza International Congress in Rome to present the important work we are doing as “Paediatric
Palliative Care and Society” to an international audience. Our goal is to break barriers and reduce inequities in paediatric palliative medicine by exploring how personal experiences, as well as systemic, structural, and global factors shape care. The conference will enable us to showcase our work, as well as learn from and build networks with international colleagues.
How did you find out about The Evie Dove Foundation?
We heard about the Evie Dove Foundation after Cheryl attended a recent research conference. After learning more about the Foundation and the
valuable professional development opportunities it supports in paediatrics, we felt that applying for a grant would be an excellent opportunity to support Paediatric Palliative Care and Society to attend at the 7th Maruzza Congress in Rome having had an abstract accepted for presentation.
Tell us about yourself!
Paula-Ann: Outside of work I am a busy Mum of young children. As a family, we love going to theme parks and especially love fast rollercoasters. When I’m not hanging upside down, I enjoy reading and binge watching the latest Netflix dramas!
Naomi: I love the water – for exercise, relaxation, mental health and play – swimming in the sea or other wild swimming spots makes me happy, gives me perspective and provides moments of peace in an otherwise busy life.
Emily: I have two children who keep me very busy in my non-working time. We spend a lot of time as a family going swimming, playing games, riding our bikes and when we can we try and get away in our campervan. When the kids let me, I do enjoy going to the gym and joining in with circuit and spin classes.
Cheryl: I’m a big foodie and enjoy cooking as well as eating out and exploring different cuisines. This is influenced by my heritage, having been born and raised in Kenya, and been lucky to travel the globe. I am a mum to a toddler who keeps me on my toes but is such a joy to raise. Motherhood radicalised me and has been one of my biggest drivers to be an advocate for equity for those most vulnerable, especially children.
Anything else you would like to tell us about your experience, future aspirations and motivations?
Paula-Ann: I am so grateful to the foundation and their amazing work in continuing their beautiful daughter’s legacy. I hope that I can continue to
develop my career to continually expand and develop our services, ensuring we deliver equitable, robust and compassionate care to all the children and families who need our care.
Naomi: I love developing my skills as a doctor, and feel privileged to work with children and families across all communities and backgrounds. I’m motivated to be part of, and develop, a community of paediatricians who advocate for equitable access to healthcare and connect clinical practice to social and global justice.
Emily: As a group, we find the inequities that exist within paediatric palliative care challenging and are passionate about how we improve our own practise within our regions alongside supporting others to do so too. By improving my knowledge and gaining a supportive network of experience and expertise around me will enable me to continue to develop and improve my practise going forward, ultimately serving to benefit the children and families with whom we work. But this benefit needs to be for every single child who needs our expertise in an equitable way. I am incredibly grateful for the Evie Dove Foundation for offering me this opportunity.
Cheryl: I chose medicine as a career because it encourages and requires me to be continuously learning. I hope to keep advancing my expertise as a paediatric palliative care clinician, and hope to maintain my drive to pursue equity in healthcare, and provide inclusive compassionate care to all children and families we care for.
