The Northern Radiotherapy Network covers the three radiotherapy centres in the North-East and North Cumbria:
- The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough
- The Northern Centre for Cancer Care (NCCC), Newcastle upon Tyne
- The Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria (NCCC NC), Carlisle
Katy Lowery - Network Programme Manager
Katy is the programme manager for the Northern Radiotherapy Network. Katy has extensive experience of health and social care commissioning and has worked with NHS England regionally around network models of working. Katy started in post in February 2020 and has made positive progress with the network’s work programme and priorities by building relationships and facilitating collaboration between radiotherapy colleagues and stakeholders across the network. She is committed to working together with network colleagues to innovate, build resilience, improve the quality of services and enhance experiences for patients and their families.
John Frew - Network Clinical Lead
Dr John Frew is a consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Freeman Hospital’s Northern Centre for Cancer Care. He specialises in Prostate and Bladder cancer as well as radiotherapy for haematological malignancies. He also runs a joint clinic with dermatology looking after Mycosis Fungoides patients from across the North-East of England.
He has a keen interest in radiotherapy and has led the introduction of many novel radiotherapy techniques including Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR).
He is actively involved in research and is Principal Investigator for several radiotherapy and chemotherapy trials.
He has been the radiotherapy Lead Clinician for the Northern Radiotherapy Network since 2020 and is also a member of the national Radiotherapy Clinical Reference Group.
Lynn Barron - Network Administrator
Lynn joined the team at the beginning of 2023, after retiring from a 43-year career in nursing. For 38-years her substantive post was within the specialty of paediatric cardiothoracic intensive care. Lynn was one of the original members when PICU was opened in 1985 at Freeman Hospital. During the pandemic Lynn worked a number of roles; supporting the patient experience team, a cardiothoracic information analyst, and covering the role of the bone marrow transplant data manager. She is now committed to provide support within the radiotherapy network.
Alison Featherstone - Managing Director of the Northern Cancer Alliance
Alison is set up the Northern Cancer Alliance for the North-East and North Cumbria in response to the “Delivering World-Class Cancer Outcomes”, the five year forward view for cancer published in 2016.
She has worked in several organisations in nursing management and leadership roles including time in the Clinical Networks and Senate where as well as managing several networks she was also the network lead for patient and public involvement.
Alison has been a longstanding member of the Northern Radiotherapy Network and is the current Chair of the Network Oversight Group.
Kevin Burke - Head of radiotherapy physics
Kevin is head of radiotherapy physics at South Tees Hospitals NHS foundation Trust (based at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough), a role he has held since 2015.
Kevin started his career in medical physics in 1994, initially in Scotland before moving to London. There he worked at Guy’s and St. Thomas’s for several years before a ten-year stint at the Royal Marsden, Chelsea. In 2011 he returned to the north-east, joining the team at Middlesbrough to work on introducing VMAT into routine clinical use.
He has a keen interest in all areas of radiotherapy physics, but his particular passion is treatment planning, ensuring each and every patient receives the best possible treatment.
Claire Huntley - Radiotherapy Service Manager
After qualifying as a Therapeutic Radiographer, Claire spent her early career at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool where she gained extensive experience in a wide range of techniques and procedures in both adult and paediatric radiotherapy.
Claire returned to the Northeast in 2000 for a role at the then South Cleveland Hospital in Middlesbrough, working as a Therapeutic Radiographer before progressing to Radiotherapy Service Manager in 2018, managing the Radiotherapy Service at The James Cook University Hospital, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
During her career, Claire has been involved in several technical developments in the department, specifically implementing Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) and Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR), as well as working in an operational role.
Claire is passionate about promoting the role of a Therapeutic Radiographer and ensures the department supports all training routes into this diverse and rewarding profession. Her focus day to day is about ensuring excellence in patient care and experience and enabling a skilled and technically confident workforce through comprehensive training and development opportunities.
Claire strives to improve patients’ holistic experiences of radiotherapy services, and that of their families and carers and keeps this is at the core of all service developments. She is also the patient experience lead for the Northern Radiotherapy Network.
Clive Peedell - Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Dr Clive Peedell is Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough. His main clinical interests are in the management of lung cancer and prostate cancer, and the development of the Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR/SBRT) services, both locally and nationally. He has worked with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on radiotherapy services to campaign for wider adoption of SABR services in the UK. He is also a co-collaborator in the development and research of Cardiac SABR for management of refractory Ventricular Tachycardia, in the UK.
Helen Turnbull - Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Dr Helen Turnbull is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Freeman Hospital’s Northern Centre for Cancer Care specialising in breast and lung cancer.
Dr Turnbull’s undergraduate training was at Cambridge and Edinburgh University. Her post graduate Radiation Oncology training was at the Southampton University Oncology Unit and included one year of research at The University of California, Davis. This allowed Dr Turnbull to gain experience in Image Guided Radiotherapy.
Dr Turnbull was appointed to the Freeman Hospital as a Consultant in Clinical Oncology in July 2011 and her main areas of clinical interest are the treatment of lung cancer with systemic treatment and radiotherapy. She also has a special interest in stereotactic radiotherapy.
Suzanne stanley - CANCER CENTRE MANAGER AND OPERATIONAL LEAD RADIOGRAPHER
Suzanne has worked in radiotherapy for 30 years, having trained at the Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield she began her career in Leeds in 1993. By 1998 by she was lead research radiographer and was instrumental in the introduction of IGRT within the service and gained national recognition for her work in image analysis which was transforming the accuracy and reproducibility of treatment. She gained her Post Graduate Diploma in Health Research from Leeds Medical School in 2009.
Family circumstances then led to a relocation to Kent and change career direction moving into a management role based at the satellite department in Canterbury. Having seen how rural communities rely on local access to services and missing being "up North" she brought her expertise into Cumbria in 2013 to manage the radiotherapy service and has overseen the transition into the new Cancer Centre in Carlisle. Suzanne remains passionate about radiotherapy and ensuring fair and equitable access to the highest quality treatment for all patients.
michael trainer - Head of regional radiotherapy physics
Michael is the Head of Regional Radiotherapy Physics Services at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, moving from Scotland to take up this role in 2024.
He started his career as a Clinical Scientist in Hull in 2007, subsequently working at the Christie in Manchester. At the Christie, he was part of the team involved in the early implementation of the national proton therapy service, acting as Lead for Proton Dosimetry and completed a 6 month placement at the Paul Scherer Institute in Switzerland.
In 2017, Michael took up the position of Head of Treatment planning in Edinburgh where he helped the department redesign their workflow and move to a paper-light radiotherapy pathway.
Michael has a keen interest in promoting development opportunities for our staff and services in radiotherapy to help provide the best care for our patients.
Cheryl Buchanan - Associate Director of Operations - Cancer and Haematology Clinical Board
Cheryl joined the NHS in 2005, originally in a finance role before moving into operational management in 2017.
Cheryl is based at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care (NCCC) at Freeman Hospital and has operational responsibility for oncology and haematology services run by the Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. This includes provision of outpatient oncology services to patients from North Durham to Northumberland, including North Cumbria and regional haematology and haemophilia services covering the North East and North Cumbria.
Working as part of the senior management team for the board, Cheryl has responsibility for oversight of approximately 600 members of staff of all disciplines, development and implementation of business cases and performance management against a range of financial and non-financial targets for the clinical board.
Cheryl joined the Network Oversight Group in 2023 and is committed to supporting the development of radiotherapy services to achieve the best possible outcomes for patients.
Julian Wenman - Service Manager of the James Cook Cancer Institute
Julian has worked in healthcare for over 25 years, mainly within Forensic Menal Health services.
This was followed by 7 years at South Tees, with the last 2 years managing the James Cook Cancer Institute.
Based at The James Cook University Hospital, Julian has responsibility for Oncology across the region which includes both chemotherapy and radiotherapy services. He is also responsible for Haematology, Nephrology, Rheumatology and Acute Palliative care.
Like others, Julian is proud to work for the NHS and is passionate in supporting and enhancing the care to patients and staff.
He is also a coach, mentor, and leader for the NHS graduate scheme within the trust.
Orla Hayman Head of Medical Physics at South Tees NHS foundation Trust
Orla joined the Northern Radiotherapy Network in 2023. Orla has 18 years’ experience working in the NHS, starting her career at Cork University Hospital in Ireland.
Orla has gone on to hold positions at Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and as a consultant Clinical Scientist in Radiotherapy Physics at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.
Orla became head of Medical Physics in March 2021 and has joined the group to focus on the development of Molecular Radiotherapy services across the region.