Sharadah Essapen - Chief of Service for Oncology

 

Sharadah Essapen is a Consultant Oncologist and Chief of Service for Oncology. She joined the Trust in 1999.

Sharadah said: “I’m very driven in terms of giving excellent care. I always put myself in the patient’s position and aim to deliver the care and treatment that I would expect if I were in their shoes.

“I tend to come to work and give 110%, so I hope that my work impacts in a very positive way for patient experience and outcome. With my Chief of Service hat on, I’m always looking to improve the service. We need to learn from patient comments and keep reviewing our processes so we can enhance our care even further.

“One of the special aspects of working at St Luke’s is that I’m surrounded by so many colleagues who have such dedication to their patients. There is a real can-do attitude and staff are very kind and positive. The main feedback we get from patients is that, despite the fact that we are a cancer unit, staff here are very upbeat and it’s a positive place to have treatment. Patients often comment that the nurses, radiographers and doctors all make you feel as if you are special.

“When I first joined St Luke’s, I was one of seven oncology consultants and now we have 28 oncologists, which is a huge increase in senior medical staff. We work very differently now. When I first started, you were very much a general oncologist, whereas now oncologists specialise in one or two tumour sites, they can’t be generalists because that’s just a vast field.

“Patients are also more informed now, compared to when I first joined. Thanks to the internet, people have far greater knowledge about what’s out there, but that’s good, it keeps us on our toes.”

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