All our teams are currently working extremely hard as we, along with the rest of the NHS, tackle Covid -19. That’s why we wanted to give our colleagues the spotlight, as part of our In Conversation With interviews, to share what they’re doing and the impact on them.

Here, we speak to Liz Crees, our Head of Radiotherapy Physics, and joint lead healthcare scientist.

Age: 50

Lives: Near Chelmsford with husband Pete, 49, a quality engineer, and kids Tara, 21, and Dan, 19, both of whom are studying engineering at university.

And: Outside of work Liz chairs her village hall committee – where there is lots of local gossip!

How has dealing with Covid-19 been for your team so far?

It started right in the middle of our Healthcare Science Week (during which Liz and colleague Jude Skipper were announced as joint lead healthcare scientists for our Trust). I wanted to keep the momentum for that going as much as possible so one of the first things I did was visit our lab, and I was really impressed – especially seeing junior staff practicing cutting specimens in their lunchbreaks as they’re so keen to learn.

I’ve been in the NHS since 1992 and I’ve never seen anything this big – I was here for the cyber attack, but that happened over eight days. In our team we’ve been very reactive – we’ve had to be as at first things were changing very quickly.

We started looking at contingency plans and I worked closely with our Radiotherapy and Oncology teams. One of the things we looked at was alternative treatments for our patients to keep them safe and limit their time in hospital, as often our patients are in an at risk group due to lower immunity.

We’ve limited the number of people in the Radiotherapy department by asking patients to wait in their cars and we text them when we’re ready for them to come in for their treatment.

We also had to look at how we could protect staffing levels. We divided our physics staff into teams, buddying up so each team had a variety of roles on it and some could work from home. This ensured if staff on site became unwell, we had other colleagues who could come in and carry out that role.

We minimised the number of people in the department as a lot of treatment planning can be done remotely, and our IT department has really helped with setting up remote access for our staff. We’ve been having virtual huddles and using photo boards, keeping everyone up-to-date.

You’ve been in the NHS almost 30 years - tell us more about your career

I joined straight from university, starting out as a medical physics trainee at Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust. Originally I wanted to work in nuclear medicine, however, there were no nuclear medicine jobs in Hull when I finished my training, and I ended up in radiotherapy. A job in my original field did come up a year later, but by then – I didn’t want to leave radiotherapy!

I enjoyed treatment planning and how I could use my scientific training for patient benefit. Plus there were lots of improvements going on with new machines and treatment, and it was challenging.

One part of my role is commissioning treatment machines and setting up new techniques. I led a refresh of our Radiotherapy department in 2017 when we introduced a new CT scanner and three new linacs (radiotherapy treatment machines). We were one of the first Trusts in Europe to get a Varian Halcyon linac which halved treatment times for our radiotherapy patients.

When did you join our Trust?

 I married and had my children in Hull, then we moved to this area in 2002 for my husband’s work. I joined as principal radiotherapy physicist at the former Oldchurch Hospital. Having done it at Hull, my first job here was to set up our quality management system.

What’s encouraged me to stay so long is the people who work here. I also really enjoyed it when we moved to Queen’s Hospital.

What does your role involve?

In Radiotherapy Physics we’re responsible for ensuring the accuracy of patient treatment.

I’m responsible for medical equipment, ensuring it’s working as it should. Day-to-day I could be treatment planning, or looking at new treatments and equipment. It’s never the same!

What’s the best thing about your job?

I love being in a position to influence treatment for our patients. There are so many challenges here, and a good team who go above and beyond. We’re a small department which have made big changes and we have a strong reputation nationally.

What do you like getting up to outside work?

I’ve recently taken up running, joining in with the rest of the family. I also do yoga – I get up at 5am to fit it in before work. And I like walking, and cooking.

I’m chair of our local village hall committee – there’s lots of village gossip and it’s very different to work!

And our favourite question of In Conversation With… do you have any pets?

I’ve got two cats – Fergus and Milo. They’re six and are starting to get a bit of a middle age spread!