Care in the North East

Tom’s Trust has been working with the Great North Children’s Hospital, which is under Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust, since September 2019. Currently we are funding Dr Uschi Hiermeier who started her new post as Tom’s Trust clinical psychologist in Newcastle in October 2024. We also fund supervision time with Dr Sarah Verity. There are three key areas that Uschi is focusing on:

• Research: collaborating on a UK data collection project for European trials in paediatric neuro-oncology

• Clinical work: offering personalised therapy and neurocognitive assessments for children with brain tumours and their families

• Group work: designing online workshops for parents and caregivers of young brain tumour patients.

Uschi provides personalised support and therapy to individuals, tailoring her approach to meet the unique needs and circumstances of each client. This also includes neuropsychology assessments at baseline and follow-up, which includes detailed reports, and often liaison with school and other organisations or services around the child.

The group work aspect of Uschi’s role involves designing and facilitating workshops and sessions that encourage group participation and interaction. The first session launched has been ‘Making friends with uncertainty’ – a six-session, evidence-based online parent group. Originally developed by Newcastle University and Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals Primary Care Service, the content has been slightly adapted to meet the needs of parents with children with brain tumours.

Leading treatment in the UK

The children and young people’s haematology and oncology service at the Great North Children’s Hospital cares for children and young people under the age of 21 who have cancer, leukaemia and other related diseases. The department is one of the largest, most advanced in the UK, providing a comprehensive range of leading edge oncology services, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. It is the Regional Treatment Centre for all of the Northern region, treating patients from as far west as Cumbria and north to Scotland. 

Sibling Toolkit

In 2024 we launched the UK’s first Sibling Toolkit, designed to help key adults, such as teachers, TA’s, sports coaches, help the siblings of children with cancer. It’s a (free to download) 40-page booklet which has gone through extensive feedback, written by leading clinical psychologists, led by Dr Sarah Verity at the Great North Children’s Hospital, and funded by Tom’s Trust. Download it for free here.