CUH in Brief: March 2025

In this issue of CUH in Brief, we cover a reunion of former Addenbrooke’s nurses, prestigious awards for our staff, pre-construction works begin for our Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, a rare disease network milestone, celebrating our Cancer Nurse Specialists, and welcoming our new non-executive director. 

Former Addenbrooke's nurses return to share memories 

We had the pleasure of welcoming former nurses, Pauline and Peri, back to our campus to meet with our Chief Nurse Lorraine Szeremeta and some of our brilliant nursing staff. 

Peri, who began working at Addenbrooke's in 1952 and specialised in neurology, reminisced on her experiences throughout her nursing career, including watching Queen Elizabeth's coronation with her colleagues the year after she started. 

Pauline, who is now 94, began her journey at Addenbrooke's in 1948, later taking on the role of Nurse Planning Officer for the new Addenbrooke's site at the time and running two oncology wards within the hospital. 

While exploring the hospital as it is today, Peri and Pauline looked back over their careers fondly. 

Pre-construction work begins on new cancer research hospital

The start of 2025 has marked a big milestone for the hospital, with pre-construction works beginning on site. We are delighted to see excavators on the ground, removing 18,000 cubic metres of soil from the raised former car park, all in readiness for the archaeological work. This programme of work will continue until the autumn, so that we are ready to start the main build in 2026.

Beyond design and construction, in January it was confirmed that we will be in wave one of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, which means the hospital remains on track to be built by 2029.

You can read more about the start of pre-construction works on the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital website. 

Doctor who shapes worldwide trauma care wins lifetime award 

Consultant Dr Rod Mackenzie, who has worked on the frontline of emergency care for more than three decades, has been awarded the 2025 Trauma Care Fellowship Award. 

The award was established in 2020 to recognise exceptional contributions to trauma victim care. Criteria include academic and clinical excellence, innovation, and service development. 

They recognised a career “dedicated to advancing trauma care, from pre-hospital response to hospital-based major trauma systems” adding “his leadership in system development, training, injury epidemiology, and governance has shaped trauma care in the UK and internationally.” 

Read more on our website. 

Earthquake mission earns Deborah the King’s award 

Deborah Swann MSc SRMC® TInSTR, Royal College of Emergency Medicine advanced clinical practitioner in our emergency department was among the first invited to Buckingham Palace to receive the new Humanitarian Medal conferred by King Charles.   

The medal is a new national form of recognition awarded to public servants and organisation members contributing to global humanitarian responses on behalf of HM Government.   

Read more about Deborah on our website. 

World’s oldest patient welcomes new rare disease network 

A team at our hospitals will lead a new national NHS rare disease collaborative network (RDCN) focused on a condition called MSMD. This rare genetic condition affects the immune system, leaving people vulnerable to certain infections. 

News of the network has been welcomed by Geraldine, age 75, one of the first people diagnosed with the condition, and believed to be the oldest person living with MSMD. Led by Dr Effrossyni Gkrania - Klotsas, the network will be informed by patients and will bring together specialists to advance research and improve care for people with MSMD. 

You can find out more from Geraldine in her radio interview on Cambridge Radio.

Celebrating our Cancer Nurse Specialists (CNSs) 

We recently celebrated National Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Day through sharing staff stories, highlighting the incredible work of some of our cancer CNSs. 

Read more about Gloria anyaegbu, Lyndsay and Giandomenico on our website. 

Welcoming our new non-executive director 

We are pleased to welcome John Crompton as a Non-Executive Director onto our board, taking up the position from 1 April 2025.  

John is a Non-Executive Director and Vice Chair of Marshall of Cambridge (Holdings) Ltd, an engineering and property company, and of ICE Benchmark Administration, which publishes financial benchmarks. 

Read more on our website. 

If you've made it to the end - thank you! 

We launched CUH in Brief last year to keep you updated on the work happening here at CUH, and we’re delighted to have more than 16,000 subscribers. 

We hope you’ve found the updates useful and informative, and we look forward to continuing to share our news with you.