Three decades helping people speak and swallow again.

For over thirty years I worked within the NHS, dedicating my career to one of the most demanding and human areas of speech therapy: helping people recover their voice and their swallow after cancer of the head and neck.

A specialist focus

A graduate of Reading University, my career began in the early 1990s as part of the multidisciplinary plastic surgery team at Withington Hospital in Manchester. I worked alongside patients undergoing advanced cancer surgery and reconstruction — procedures that often carried profound physical and psychological challenges. That early work shaped everything since: the conviction that rehabilitation is as much about confidence and identity as it is about technique.

Leadership and innovation

I helped develop the North West region's first multidisciplinary care pathway guidelines for head and neck cancer, and chaired the Special Interest Group in Head and Neck Cancer for speech therapists in Northern England. As Clinical Lead Speech and Language Therapist I supported maxillofacial, ENT and plastic surgery teams across South Manchester, and contributed to the expert panel behind the UK's 2004 Improving Outcomes Guidance.

From 2005 to 2019 I was Principal Speech and Language Therapist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, where I led and developed the service. Through a Macmillan innovation project I introduced early, preventative swallowing interventions during chemoradiotherapy — an approach that went on to inform regional practice.

Teaching and training

Teaching has always run alongside my clinical work: lectures for cancer nurses, examining on advanced dysphagia courses at Manchester Metropolitan University, and contributions to the Upper GI imaging Masters module at Salford University. Until 2024 I acted as a clinical simulation facilitator and examiner for undergraduate speech and language therapy students at the University of Manchester.

Beyond the UK

In 2020 I began sharing expertise internationally, building a professional relationship with the speech therapy team at Tata Memorial, India, to support the development of head and neck rehabilitation there.

Expert witness

Also in 2020, I completed medicolegal training for expert witnesses with Imperial College London, enabling me to provide expert reports and witness services alongside my clinical practice.

A high-quality, caring service that prepares clients before surgery and aids their recovery afterwards — with practical support and empathy throughout.— from an independent client survey