Colchester nurse to take on national cancer role

Emma Sweeney, Macmillan Head of Cancer Nursing at Colchester General Hospital, will be appointed at the UK Oncology Nursing Society (UKONS) in November.

Ms Sweeney has been a UKONS board member since November 2014 and has also chaired its Living With and Beyond Cancer group.

She said: "The mission of UKONS is inspiring cancer nursing which resonates with me very much and is something I try to do in my day-to-day work.

"Sharing knowledge and best practice with nursing colleagues from all over the UK can only be good for patients treated by Colchester Hospital Trust.

"Being appointed president elect of a UK-wide organisation is also a considerable accolade for Colchester and helps to consolidate our position as a centre for cancer care."

Ms Sweeney, who lives in Witham, will continue to work full-time in Colchester while she is president elect and also during her two-year presidency, which she is due to begin in November 2018.

Dr Barbara Stuttle, Director of Nursing and Patient Experience at the Turner Road hospital, said: "Emma is an excellent role model for the nursing profession and her appointment as president elect is absolutely brilliant news – it’s a real achievement for her and also good for the trust."

UKONS, which has about 5,000 members and is run by cancer nurses for cancer nurses, aims to promote excellence in the nursing care of people directly and indirectly affected by cancer.

Ms Sweeney took up her current role as Macmillan Head of Cancer Nursing in November 2014 having previously spent two years at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

She qualified as a nurse at Barts Health NHS Trust and spent her early career in London, working in St Thomas’, and at University College Hospital (UCH) and the Royal Free Hospital.

Ms Sweeney is also chair of the trust’s Cancer User Group which is made up of people whose lives have been affected by cancer, either as patients or carers.