Programme

Sandra qualified as a Registered General Nurse in 1994 (Edinburgh). She relocated to London to pursue a career in Surgical Nursing at University Hospital Lewisham, holding positions of Staff Nurse/Senior Staff Nurse. In 1999 took up the position of Clinical Nurse Specialist Stoma Care. In this role she developed a patient focused dynamic service in the acute and community settings. She relocated back to Scotland in 2004 and embarked on a career within the commercial sector. Sandra has worked with Hollister Ltd for 14 years in varying roles across different business units. In her current role she is responsible for the development of ‘best in class’ education programmes. Sandra holds a Diploma in Nursing from Kings College, London; a Post Graduate Certificate in Interprofessional Health and Social Care from Canterbury Christchurch University and a Master of Science Degree from Glasgow Caledonian University.

Clare is an experienced urology specialist nurse who leads a team of 10 CNS’s and is committed to driving forward service improvement locally, regionally and nationally through innovation and collaboration.

Her area of specialist practice is the management of prostate cancer, and she has advanced her practice in order to support and improve the diagnostic pathway.

She is the current BAUN president and a PCUK Clinical Champion and is passionate about the contribution of urology nurses to the future of urological services to promote high quality care.

Tadas Sileika has been leading applied and translational research in functional biomaterials as a PhD candidate, more recently applying the very concepts in industry.  As a graduate student, Tadas was at the forefront of functional biomaterials research inspired by plant polyphenols.  During his career in industry, he has focused on utilization of advanced materials and surface modifications for novel antimicrobial strategies in wound care and continence care, aimed at reducing infection, antimicrobial resistance, and ultimately improving the quality of patients’ lives.  He has also worked on bringing life-saving medical devices to emerging markets.

His efforts have led to increased awareness and understanding of relevant etiologies behind urinary tract infections for intermittent catheter users.  Working closely with a global team at Hollister Incorporated, Tadas has been actively disseminating the importance of antimicrobial resistance stewardship and advanced device development in addressing ongoing and future human health issues. 

Tadas has also been engaging with the local and state communities to emphasize the importance of STEM in education, dynamically mentoring students, interns, and co-op program members.  He regularly speaks at community engagements and seminars on the importance of STEM.

Katie began her career in the NHS over 23 years ago, having worked as an HCA prior to completing her registered nurse training in West London. In 2004, Katie was successfully appointed as the Urology Nurse Practitioner at Homerton Hospital. In 2006 Katie became actively involved in the development of a pelvic floor dysfunction service which incorporated a multidisciplinary service for female sufferers of urinary and faecal incontinence.

In 2019, Katie became the Clinical Lead for Continence in the South of England at Hollister and has continued to support the Catheter Service in South Essex as well initiate further catheter services in other areas.

Katie Heavens has worked with the British Journal of Nursing on a variety of topics including: Overactive Bladder Syndrome, Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation, and intermittent self-catheterization and has published two articles in the British Journal of Nursing.

One of Kay's responsibilities is to transform and innovate the urology multidisciplinary nursing work force. Kay has fulfilled several urological senior nurse leadership posts working within the NHS acute hospital setting in the UK for over 38 years. This rich experience has culminated into a creative visionary valued skill set, transforming empowered multidisciplinary nursing roles whilst building urological nurse led services. Services that are designed to enhance our patient pathways whilst future proofing pertinent health care  for our patient population.

Kay's principle philosophy has sustained a virtuous leadership style that harnesses and empowers nursing talent whilst building multifaceted effective nursing teams. Respecting the human factor elements that influence the delivery of pertinent timely patient care, has played a key role when seeking to evaluate several of the innovations she has been responsible for. One example can be found in a recent national publication of the NHS GIRFT report “Getting It Right First Time” which and recognises and values the design and implementation of a new innovative Nurse Led Urological Ambulatory service.

Clare is an experienced urology specialist nurse who leads a team of 10 CNS’s and is committed to driving forward service improvement locally, regionally and nationally through innovation and collaboration.

Her area of specialist practice is the management of prostate cancer, and she has advanced her practice in order to support and improve the diagnostic pathway.

She is the current BAUN president and a PCUK Clinical Champion and is passionate about the contribution of urology nurses to the future of urological services to promote high quality care.

Julie currently works in benign Urology, leading a team of nine. She is an experienced Advanced Nurse Practitioner having worked in emergency care before Urology. Her expertise is principally voiding dysfunction and detrusor overactivity, and she delivers a sacral neuromodulation service, implanting the nerve stimulation devices autonomously. Her aims are to provide evidence-based patient focused care, in a timely manner with care and kindness. Julie's publications can be sourced on Pubmed.

One of Kay's responsibilities is to transform and innovate the urology multidisciplinary nursing work force. Kay has fulfilled several urological senior nurse leadership posts working within the NHS acute hospital setting in the UK for over 38 years. This rich experience has culminated into a creative visionary valued skill set, transforming empowered multidisciplinary nursing roles whilst building urological nurse led services. Services that are designed to enhance our patient pathways whilst future proofing pertinent health care  for our patient population.

Kay's principle philosophy has sustained a virtuous leadership style that harnesses and empowers nursing talent whilst building multifaceted effective nursing teams. Respecting the human factor elements that influence the delivery of pertinent timely patient care, has played a key role when seeking to evaluate several of the innovations she has been responsible for. One example can be found in a recent national publication of the NHS GIRFT report “Getting It Right First Time” which and recognises and values the design and implementation of a new innovative Nurse Led Urological Ambulatory service.

Julie currently works in benign Urology, leading a team of nine. She is an experienced Advanced Nurse Practitioner having worked in emergency care before Urology. Her expertise is principally voiding dysfunction and detrusor overactivity, and she delivers a sacral neuromodulation service, implanting the nerve stimulation devices autonomously. Her aims are to provide evidence-based patient focused care, in a timely manner with care and kindness. Julie's publications can be sourced on Pubmed.