A pro-active and knowledgeable advanced paediatric dietician and a kind-hearted staff nurse whose actions make a huge impact on patients were the winners of our You Made a Difference awards in July.
Karen Jepson qualified as a dietitian in 1994. Her first role was at Addenbrooke’s as an adult dietitian covering gastroenterology, ITU and oncology.
After some time in paediatrics at Bedford Hospital and as a team lead at Cambridge Community Services NHS Trust, Karen returned to CUH in 2014. Since then she has worked on ward C2 for the paediatric haematology and oncology service and as a lead for parenteral nutrition.
Karen was recently presented with a Certificate of Recognition from the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) for her valuable contribution on the new Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group e-learning course. She has also been involved in creating national paediatric dietetic haematology oncology competencies and has written an article for the Journal of Paediatric and Child Health, which will be published in February 2024.
Karen always puts her patients first and strives to ensure that they achieve the best possible outcomes for their treatment.
She is pro-active with their nutrition and is actively involved every step of the way.
Extracts from Karen’s nomination, which was submitted by a relative of a patient, said:
“Karen’s specialist support has been an invaluable part of our son's treatment and recovery from non-hodgkins lymphoma.
“She was a welcome daily visitor during the four months he spent in isolation on Ward C2; ensuring his nutrition needs were met, despite the challenges created by the intense chemotherapy treatment regime.
Karen got to know us as a family and put us at ease right from the start, sharing her knowledge and explaining simply how and why things needed to happen; both to us, as shell shocked parents, and our son.
“She always made sure our son felt in control of what was happening with his feeding which was really valuable for him, as understandably there was not a lot of flexibility with other more medical aspects of his treatment.
“Since his discharge from hospital our son has had some ongoing issues and Karen has ensured we feel we can still get in touch with any queries.
Along with her expertise, her warmth and humour have really helped us feel confident in managing his diet at home.
Carol Eberhardt, originally from Kenya, joined the day surgery unit in the Addenbrooke’s Treatment Centre in November 2021. Having lived in Germany and England for over ten years, Carol is fluent in five languages.
Carol is always ready with a beaming smile and her infectious laugh can be heard throughout the ward.
She always goes above and beyond for her patients and deserves this award as her commitment to her colleagues and patients is to be admired. She is kind-hearted and provides kind, safe and excellent care to all her patients and their families.
This is reflected in extracts from Carol’s nomination, which was submitted by a relative of a patient, which said:
“Carol has been unbelievably supportive to my dad, as a patient, and to myself.
“We live very far from Cambridge and after finding out I had been sleeping in the hospital corridors for many nights, Carol refused to let me have another sleepless night and immediately arranged accommodation for me in the hospital.
“Her actions have made a huge impact on our stay. I cannot begin to express the kindness Carol has shown my father and I.
She has shown such care and has made us laugh when we were feeling uncertain, her kindness is a credit to the hospital.