How do you support our Cystic Fibrosis patients? 
Alongside my dietetic colleagues, and as part of the wider multidisciplinary team, I work with our cystic fibrosis (CF) patients to optimise their nutrition — which is a cornerstone of CF care. CF is a complex, multi-organ condition with significant nutritional consequences, and as dietitians we play a key role in helping our patients maintain their health—whether that’s supporting weight and optimising their diet, managing gastrointestinal symptoms, or navigating conditions like CF diabetes and bone disease.
A big part of our role is also helping patients adapt, as their nutritional needs can change significantly over time, whether due to disease progression, new treatments such as CFTR modulators or transplant, or different life stages like transitioning to adult care, pregnancy, or ageing. Supporting patients through those changes in a way that feels manageable and personalised is a core element of our dietetic practice.
As therapy lead, I also oversee the delivery of our physiotherapy, and psychology services for our CF patients. This allows us as a team to provide truly holistic, compassionate care - ensuring patients have access to high-quality specialist support that is consistent, accessible and addresses both their physical health and overall wellbeing throughout their lives.
What does your role involve day to day?
My role is a real mix of clinical work and leadership, which is something I really value as it keeps me closely connected to both patients and the team.
On the clinical side, I work directly with our patients in both outpatient and inpatient settings, providing specialist dietetic support for their individual needs. That might involve anything from managing complex nutritional issues to supporting patients through changes in their treatment or health.
Alongside this, a big part of my role is supporting and leading the wider CF and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) therapy teams. Day to day, that can mean facilitating team discussions, supporting staff development, managing recruitment, problem-solving challenges, and making sure we’re delivering safe, high-quality, and consistent care.
I also work closely with other leads within Rehab and Therapies across our cardiac and respiratory services. This broader part of my role focuses on service development, strategy, collaboration, and ensuring our specialist services are aligned and continue to evolve to meet patient needs
No two days are ever quite the same, which is one of the things I enjoy the most. One moment I might be in clinic with a patient, and the next I’m working on a quality improvement project or going through our staff survey results and thinking about what changes we need to make to ensure our staff feel valued and supported.
At its core, my role is about making sure both patients and staff feel supported, so that we can provide the best possible care
Why did you choose to be a dietitian?
I chose to become a dietitian after developing an interest in how the body functions in health and disease during my degree in physiology. I was drawn to dietetics because it combines strong scientific foundations with a practical, patient-focused approach. Nutrition is a fundamental part of health, and I valued the opportunity to work collaboratively with patients to make realistic changes that improve how they feel day to day. I went on to study dietetics at postgraduate level and have since built my career in the NHS, specialising in cystic fibrosis, where dietitians play a central role in long-term care – and make a real difference.
What I like most about my job
What I enjoy most about my role is the variety it offers. I really value having a position that combines clinical work, leadership and service development, where I can help shape and develop the service, think about how we can improve what we do for both patients and staff, and see those changes have a tangible impact. Being part of a highly skilled multidisciplinary team adds to this, with a strong sense of collaboration and shared purpose that is both motivating and fulfilling.
A key highlight of my career has been being part of the transformation in cystic fibrosis care over recent years, particularly with the introduction of CFTR modulator therapies, which have led to dramatic improvements in patients’ health and quality of life.
The clinical landscape has changed significantly over the 15 years I’ve worked with people with CF, and it has been incredibly rewarding to support patients as their needs evolve alongside these advances. Interestingly, skills I developed early in my career in areas such as geriatric medicine and cardiac care have become increasingly relevant to this population.
More broadly, some of the most meaningful moments in my career have come from the relationships I’ve built with patients across different hospitals. Being able to support them over many years, through different stages of their lives, and make a practical difference to how they feel day to day is, for me, one of the most rewarding aspects of the job.