MCN Clinical Steering Group

Dr David Vickers (Chair)

Medical Director 

Consultant Paediatrician and Clinical Lead CFSME Service for Children and Young People, Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
Medical Director East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices
Trustee Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

David is a Consultant Paediatrician with Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust (CCS) and also Medical Director of East Anglia's Children's Hospices. He is the Chair of the East of England Children’s Palliative Care Managed Clinical Network. He has a long-standing interest in children with complex healthcare needs and disability and completed a Diploma in Palliative Medicine in 2005. David also chaired the Nice Guidelines Committee on End of Life Care for Children which published guidelines in 2016. He is also executive Medical Director of CCS and has been a Senior Officer of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Dr Justin Amery

Doctor, Keech

Vicky Amiss-Smith

Well Child Nurse Complex Care and Discharge Planning CNS, Addenbrooke’s Hospital

For 6 years Vicky has held the role of WellChild Nurse at Addenbrookes hospital, supporting children and families during long hospital stays, complex discharge planning and co-ordination of care. Vicky works closely with community services and professionals to ensure that the child is kept at the centre of planning and care needs for a positive move from hospitals to home, and at times in to hospice care.

Dr Paula Ann Bailey

Doctor, Keech

Carrie Cannon

MCN Coordinator, hosted by EACH 

Carrie joined EACH in 2012 having previously worked as a Project Manager for government and private sectors.  Carrie assisted in setting up the MCN and continues to coordinate the activities of the Network supporting the Chair.

Dr Elena Cattaneo

Paediatric Consultant, Colchester Hospital

Margaret Elliott

Dr Margaret Elliott is a Specialty Grade Doctor in Palliative Medicine at St Elizabeth Hospice. She has previously worked as a GP Principal in Cambridge for 14years. Margaret took a sabbatical from General Practice to do a Masters in Gerontology at Kings College London and then went to The Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit at UCL where she worked on a clinical research program exploring the supportive care needs of people with advanced dementia approaching the end of life. Margaret joined the St Elizabeth Hospice in 2015 where she works within day services and the community. She has developed a role providing medical support, within the interdisciplinary team approach, for young people who transition from children’s to adult services.

Debbi Lynn

Matron, EACH 

Debbi is a paediatric nurse, who has been working in palliative care for the past 15 years. Prior to this, her experience is in acute paediatric oncology, bone marrow transplant and community nursing.  

After setting up a paediatric community palliative care service with integrated long term ventilation service in London she moved to East Anglia and became a CNS with the EACH symptom management team and is now Matron, based at Milton hospice. 

Dr Linda Maynard

Nurse Consultant Children’s Palliative Care, EACH 

Linda Maynard is Consultant Nurse -  Children’s Palliative Care  and Lead Clinician at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. She is a Children’s Advanced Nurse Practitioner and Independent Prescriber. Linda leads the nursing element of the East of England Managed Clinical Network and has particular interest in service development and redesign.

Ellie Miller

Head of In-Patient Services, Havens Hospices

Cheryl Norman

Matron, EACH 

Before joining EACH, Cheryl worked in paediatric oncology for 8 years. She has worked for EACH for almost 15 years, and was a Clinical Nurse Specialist within the Symptom Management Nursing Service since it began in 2010. Cheryl is now Matron based at the Nook. 

Cheryl has a special interest in pain management and is currently undertaking a diploma in aromatherapy.

Sonya O’Leary

Lead Nurse, Children’s Service, Keech Hospice Care 

Sonya qualified as a Registered General Nurse and Registered Sick Children’s Nurse at Liverpool School of Nursing. Her career has been primarily working with children and young people at specialist hospitals within the UK; Bristol Hospital for Sick Children, Alder Hey and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore.  In 2003, Sonya moved into the charity sector and managed a children’s Hospice at Home service for over a decade, and also managed on of the adult teams at Rennie Grove Hospice Care. 

Sonya has worked at Keech Hospice Care for over three years leading teams of specialist staff (In Patient, Community and Day Support) in providing holistic palliative care for children across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes.

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Dr Katherine Piccinelli

Consultant Paediatrician, West Suffolk Hospital 

Katherine has worked at West Suffolk Hospital as a Consultant Paediatrician since 2009. She is lead for Paediatric Oncology and Palliative care.  

Katherine completed the Cardiff Diploma in Palliative Care in 2011.

Dr Barbara Piel

Consultant Paediatrician, Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn 

Barbara qualified from the Heinrich - Heine - University Duesseldorf, Germany in December 1995, and moved to the UK in February 1996  to commence postgraduate training, obtaining the MRCPCH in 2000 . 

Barbara completed her higher specialised training in the West Midlands Deanery, where she spent time at the Birmingham Children's Hospital and worked with palliative care teams in Shrewsbury and Birmingham. 

Barbara obtained her postgraduate diploma in palliative medicine from the University of Cardiff in 2007 and commenced her post as Consultant Paediatrician with special interest in paediatric oncology, diabetes and palliative care in October 2007, working with the local CCNT in conjunction with EACH to provide palliative care.

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Dr Jo Ponnampalam

Consultant in Paediatric Medicine, Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital

Dr Pat Sartori

Consultant in Paediatric Palliative & Supportive Care, Addenbrooke’s Hospital

MB BS London MRCP London FRCPCH MD Bristol DipPallMed Cardiff CertCCS Cambridge

Dr Pat Sartori qualified from Guy's Hospital Medical school, then trained in General Paediatrics in Manchester, Addenbrookes, Great Ormond Street and Birmingham Children's Hospital. She trained in Paediatric Oncology at Birmingham Children's, Bristol Children's and Addenbrookes hospitals. Dr Sartori worked in Paediatric Oncology at Addenbrookes as a senior registrar then as a consultant. She then trained in Palliative Medicine and took up her current post in 2009.   

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Hattie Warriner

Matron, EACH