Meet our Support Services Team

Tom has over 10 years’ experience leading teams and managing services for people with health and mental health needs, within the charity sector. Tom previously worked as Advice and Service Improvement Manager for UK health charity, Epilepsy Action. This role involved managing the organisation’s helpline service, which won Helpline of the Year and successfully gained Helpline’s Standard accreditation in 2023.

Tom has a broad range of experience in developing new services, quality improvement, safeguarding and managing staff/volunteers. Tom is passionate about delivering high-quality information and support services. He is excited to be working with our highly skilled and experienced Support Services team to provide the best possible support to people affected by blood cancer.

Gemma Trout has been a registered nurse specialising in haematology for 24 years, working as a Haematology Inpatients Nurse, a Haematology Ward Sister and, for the past 13 years, as an Acute Leukaemia Clinical Nurse Specialist working with adults over 20 years old.

Now working as a Senior Support Services Nurse for Blood Cancer UK, Gemma is regularly delivering high quality support for the blood cancer community whilst advancing the clinical expertise and developing new services alongside her colleagues.

Heidi Smith has been a nurse for over 20 years. Her most recent post was as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in a Haematology Department in the NHS. Previously, she worked as a chemotherapy nurse in New Zealand and in the UK, as well as a staff nurse on a Haematology ward. She is especially interested in lymphoma, MPN, MDS and chronic conditions. Her role as a Blood Cancer UK Support Services Nurse allows her to support people and help them understand their blood cancer and different treatments available.

Alice Shaw is the Senior Digital Support Services Officer within the Support Services team. She has been working at Blood Cancer UK since 2016 and has a wealth of experience working with blood cancer patients and their loved ones from diagnosis to treatment and beyond. She works across all services, focussing particularly on developing our digital products such as our Online Community Forum, ensuring we are providing as many people as possible with relevant, high quality blood cancer support at all times.

Heidi J Smith has been a registered nurse for 14 years and has spent most of her career working within NHS Cancer Services. Heidi has worked predominantly in a Haematology/Oncology clinical setting and most recently as a Cancer Nurse Educator for both Haematology and Oncology departments.

Heidi has come from a clinical background and has a wealth of knowledge around systemic anti-cancer therapy and has a specialist interest in Myeloma.

Heidi is excited to be joining Blood Cancer UK and focussing solely on the support of people affected by blood cancer.

Lynne has worked within the specialties of oncology and haematology for over 30 years, primarily in the NHS. The majority of her roles have included hands-on clinical work and 1-to-1 patient care. Lynne also brings with her lots of experience in research and delivering clinical trials. Most recently, Lynne was a clinical nurse specialist providing care to people receiving treatment for lymphoma and non-malignant blood disorders. Lynne is excited to be working within a team that can give time, support and information to help people affected by blood cancer make informed decisions about their care.