Emma, 45, has worked at Newcastle Hospitals for the last seven years as a consultant in children’s intensive care specialising in heart conditions, as well as being the lead for children’s ventricular assisted device (VAD) services.
A key goal for Emma and her colleagues at the Freeman Hospital is to reduce the stress and impact of a long-term hospitalisation on children and their families by offering them mobility and autonomy in their daily lives in the hospital environment.
Working with some of the world’s experts in the care of children with VAD, Newcastle was pivotal in bringing the mobile Berlin Heart driving unit (the Berlin Heart Excor ACTIVE™ï¸) to market.
Emma and the team also won the 2020 Horizon Impact Award for their project
‘Mobile Autonomy for Children in End-stage Heart Failure” (MACH) which celebrates outstanding EU funded projects that have used their results to provide value for society across Europe and beyond.
What’s your involvement in the series?
In the series, we meet four-year-old heart patient Kit, who was one of Newcastle’s first patients to have a new portable device (which operates the mechanical pump assisting blood flow to the heart) fitted on the children’s heart unit at the Freeman.
Emma oversees the switchover of machines, which enables Kit to leave the confines of the hospital for the first time in months.
What do you like about your work?
“It’s great to see a child’s quality of life improve through something like this. It’s very emotional and it’s the best part of the day. It always gives you a buzz for the rest of the week.”
What do you do in your spare time?
When she’s not at work, Emma, who is a keen cyclist and also enjoys Kung Fu.
What is the favourite part of your work / interests outside of work?
“Obviously I love seeing patients get better and go home. For those children who need to stay in hospital, I enjoy being in the team improving their mobility, tailoring their individual care to support the family and avoid complications. Many of our patients are with us for many months and this gives us a chance to really get to know them.”
How did you find the filming?
“The filming was fun and seemed quite relaxed. There was a buzz around the ward and the other families were very keen to help even when they weren’t themselves being filmed. We were all very pleased to be making visible the hard work, talents and dedication of the team.”
What would you say to someone who is interested in progressing a similar career?
“It’s a great career, full of challenge and variety. Doctors, nurses and other professionals interested in working in our unit need to train in children’s intensive care or children’s cardiac care and then develop a special interest from there.”
