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Hospital faces

Do you know what the Trust's hairdresser, a member of the sewing team or an orthopaedic technician do on a day-to-day basis? Or do you want to find out what the Clinical Director of one of our key services does during a working day, or perhaps the general manager of our renal services?

This section of our website introduces you to some members of our staff and the vital role that they play in keeping our hospitals running on a daily basis.

Have a look at their profiles below to find out more about their role and what they do every day. More profiles will be added regularly so keep coming back!

 

  • Administrator, environmental management team: Carmel Loder Carmel is a member of the environmental management team, which oversees numerous nonclinical services in the Trust. She reels them off in a list which includes catering, telecommunications, cleaning and buildings, to name but a few.
  • Anaesthetist: Franca Serafini Franca Serafini, an anaesthetist with a passion for mountain climbing, has worked for the Trust for eight years and especially enjoys working on the labour wards and orthopaedics, but it is happy to be involved in everything that comes up.
  • Associate specialist, community paediatrics: Dr Nicholas Silva Dr Silva, who has worked for the Trust for the past 18 years, is part of the team that helps children who may not be developing as quickly as they should (such as in their language or learning skills) and is heavily involved in adoption, fostering and child protection services.
  • Chair of the Board: John Davey John has been Trust Chair for two and a half years and, as leader of the Trust Board, he - along with the Chief Executive - has responsibility for the Trust. The Chair is particularly responsible for overseeing the performance and roles of the non-executive directors.
  • Clinical Director of women and children's services: Dr Rim El-Rifai Rim arrived in the UK in 1992, a junior doctor looking forward to spending four years' training in Britain and then returning home to Syria. That was 16 years ago. Since then, she has trained as a consultant paediatrician, set up the Trust's first designated adolescent clinic.
  • Clinical nurse specialist in immunology and allergies: Amena Warner Amena Warner is our sole clinical nurse specialist in immunology and allergies, and one of only 108 in the whole country. In fact, the small team based at St Helier is responsible for the investigation and management of allergies for the whole of southwest London.
  • Consultant ophthalmic (eye) surgeon: Mr Steve Harsum This month, we catch up with one of our consultant eye surgeons (officially known as an ophthalmic surgeon), Mr Steve Harsum, who spends his days restoring the sight of people with damaged retinas and other conditions.
  • Consultant paediatric surgeon: Dr Stefano Giuliani Stefano, who joined us in February from the world renowned Children's Hospital Los Angeles, said: "I have only been here a short while, but it's going very well. There is a great atmosphere around the hospital and everyone has been very supportive.
  • Critical care pharmacist: Sonia Moore Sonia's busy days are spent mostly on the wards checking patient's medication and assessing patients for intravenous feeding (where nutrients are given to a patient through a vein, should they be unable to eat or digest food normally).
  • Emergency planning liaison officer: Michelle Bello This time, we caught up with Michelle Bello, our emergency planning liaison officer, who has been tasked with leading our preparations and making sure we're ready to deal with anything that might come our way.
  • Expert sewing team: Denise Taylor Denise started working at the Trust as a domestic cleaner 23 years ago. She then began work in linen and, seven years ago, moved to the sewing room in Epsom, which is on the ground floor of the Wells Wing.
  • Fertility nurse specialist: Lucy Higgins This month, we went to find out what a working day is like in the ACU, where our patients' future can be changed forever. We spoke to Lucy Higgins, a fertility nurse specialist in the unit who has been with us since 1992.
  • General Manager of Clinical Operations: Claire Dibble Claire joined the Trust in 2005, and after working as a bed manager and subsequently a service manager, she applied for the newly-created position of General Manager of Clinical Operations.
  • General manager of our renal services: Steve Simper Steve joined the Trust 18 months ago and is in charge of making sure the renal department runs smoothly. From getting involved with complicated business transactions to making sure that each patient receives the best possible service, Steve really does have a wide range of tasks to oversee.
  • Gynaecological matron: Heidi Barron Heidi has been with us since the beginning of March, having spent the past seven years working at Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in central London. But, you could be forgiven for thinking that she looks a bit familiar.
  • Head of Immunology: Dr Grant Hayman The immunology department diagnoses and treats a number of conditions, including severe allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome and immunodeficiency (which means that some part of the body's immune system is inadequate so resistance to infectious diseases is reduced).
  • Head of information security: Paul Kenny Paul started working at St Helier in 1997 - before Epsom and St Helier hospitals were part of the same organisation - and has seen enormous changes in the way information is used, stored and distributed over the past 14 years.
  • Head of Midwifery: Sally Sivas Sally joined the Trust in September 2008, and has got well and truly stuck into the role. She said: “I really enjoy it here. There are some great benefits of working for an organisation like the NHS and a Trust like this. We don't always appreciate it for what it is, but I do believe it's a great place to work."
  • Hospital play specialist: Rachael Brennan Rachael spends her time working with children staying on Casey and Ebbisham wards, and has been with us since November 2011. However, had things turned out a little differently, Rachael could have been gracing another well-known Epsom institution.
  • Lead Biomedical Scientist: Mary Harvey Mary Harvey is the Lead Biomedical Scientist at Epsom Hospital and she oversees the process of testing tissues from start to finish.
  • Librarian: Marco Isetta Marco has worked for the Trust for 14 years and every day, helps a wide range of people - from consultants to healthcare assistants - track down the information that they need. The librarians are also on hand to support medical students and junior doctors as they complete their studies.
  • Midwife and home birth lead: Maria Mills Shaw Maria joined the Trust as a midwife in 1999 and three years ago became the home birth lead - working to support women and their partners as they give birth at home.
  • Older people's assessment liaison nurse: Sue Cook One of our older people's assessment liaison nurses (OPAL), Sue Cook, told us more about a typical day for her, and just why she's so incredibly passionate about her patients and their care.
  • Outpatient clerk: Rhys Jones Rhys Jones is an outpatient clerk who works on the reception desk of the Derby Suite in Epsom. Rhys spends his time booking and arranging appointments, assisting patients and helping clinics to run smoothly.
  • PA to the Chief Executive: Lisa Avis Lisa said: "It's certainly interesting! No two days are ever the same, so you never know what's going to happen from one day to the next. Because Samantha has an open door policy, she welcomes the views of every member of staff and volunteer and that often means the office is very busy.
  • Security supervisor: Ray Nelms Ray Nelms, security supervisor, told us all about the different tasks involved in being a security officer at the Trust. Ray is based at St Helier but works across the sites. He's been working for the Trust f for seven years.
  • Senior orthopaedic technician: Barry Smith Senior orthopaedic technician, Barry Smith, treats people with orthopaedic problems who need plaster casts in the plaster room.
  • Senior staff nurse in A&E: Dawn Hepburn Dawn said: "In A&E, there's no such thing as an average day! But that's why I love working here because it's just so unpredictable. You never know who's going to come through those doors and what they're going to need."
  • Sister for plastic and oral and maxillo facial surgery: Heather Grover Say the words 'plastic surgery' to most people, and the chances are, they'll think of the rich and famous, or celebrities on the pages of the latest glossy magazine. But at our hospitals, that's not the sort of plastic surgery we know about.
  • Specialty medicine matron: Tanya Fuller Hospital matrons were re-introduced to the NHS in 2001 after an absence of over 30 years. It formed part of the government's drive up to further improve standards in hospitals and prevent hospital infections.
  • Switchboard operator: Natasha Buttivant Natasha is one of our switchboard operators, and plays a part in the team who deal with the hundreds of calls that come through to our hospitals (including the cottage hospital at Epsom, the Nelson and Leatherhead) each week. But that's not all, the switchboard team are also responsible for emergency call outs.
  • Technician, medical electronics team: Carlos Fiallos Carlos joined the Trust in 1997, having previously worked around the Middle and Far East as a specialist in fire detection systems. Since then, he has been part of the medical electronics team, who are responsible for maintaining a wide range of electronic and mechanical equipment.
  • Theatre aid: Ben Ransome Ben's role as theatre aid sees him assisting in the operating theatres at St Helier, and can involve anything from transporting patients to and from surgery, preparing the operating theatre and the equipment, completing necessary paperwork during the operation, and making sure the theatre remains clean and sterile.
  • Trust hairdresser: Jill Line Jill Line has worked as the staff and patient hairdresser for 30 years, splitting her time between visiting patients on the wards and styling the 'dos of many members of staff and volunteers up in the salon, which is on the 5th floor of Ferguson House.
  • Volunteer: David Hogan David decided to volunteer after receiving treatment in the ward two and a half years ago. He said: "A while ago, I suffered a stroke and it really knocked me for six. I thought I was 'Mr Fitness' and then all of a sudden, I was completely floored."
  • Waste manager: Gloria Randall Gloria has worked at the Trust for four years and now works in four separate areas including pest control, waste management, grounds and gardens, and travel.

More information

Read more about our clinical services, the services available at our hospitals and the Trust as an organisation
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