Rama Foundation

I’m currently working as a band 5 dietitian at Addenbrooke’s where my role is split between acute stroke and rehabilitation wards and a wide range of band 5 wards (medicine for the elderly, infectious diseases, vascular). I have worked at CUH for a year - my first job as a dietitian after completing my master’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics last March. I have lived in many different places over the last few years including Glasgow, Liverpool, Chester and a year in Brisbane, Australia.

I am currently employed at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrookes, as the Lead Nurse for the Acute Healthcare Strategy. This role is relatively new for me and involves challenging existing healthcare practices and developing strategies to inform the future of healthcare in our region. My career at CUH commenced in 2002, and since then I have gained experience in orthopaedics, acute medicine, and predominantly urgent and emergency care services. I am deeply passionate about enhancing patient care.

I am a Dietitian working at Addenbrookes Hospital working as a Specialist Hepatology and Liver Transplant Dietitian. I have previously worked as a Gastroenterology, Stroke and general medical/surgical dietitian in Essex which has provided me with lots of skills and knowledge. I am keen to share my knowledge and experience in Nutrition and Dietetics and I hope that it will be helpful to the people and groups we meet on this trip. I am also very excited to experience India, a completely new and different country, I am sure I will make memories I will cherish for a lifetime!

I am a Speech and Language Therapist working at Addenbrooke’s Hospital; currently covering the inpatient adult acute wards and running the outpatient neuro-oncology service. Having previously worked at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, St Thomas’ Hospital in London and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore I have been lucky to work across multiple areas of specialty including neurology, respiratory, spinal injuries, stroke, critical care, geriatric medicine and community.

We are very excited to introduce Charly Gilchrist, volunteering for Rama Foundation in 2024 - 25.

Charly is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist with over nine years of experience working in the NHS. She has worked in a range of areas including major trauma, acute stroke, community teams and the general acute wards. Currently working in Critical Care at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Charly specialises in the management of complex communication and swallowing impairments and tracheostomy weaning.

A week’s visit to the beautiful Rishikesh in North eastern India at the foothills of the Himalayas was so much more of an enlightening experience than I expected. What in incredible week, I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the area and experience the culture. So many of the people in this region have so little yet are still smiling and grateful.

As I mentioned in my pre-trip blog (https://ramafoundation.org.uk/node/51), I was the first physio to join the Rama Foundation on their yearly visits to Rishikesh, India and so I was going with no prior knowledge or expectations about what the trip might look like for me. Paula, Rachel and I were lucky enough to fly to India a week before the volunteering started in order to get a glimpse of India.

It has now been a number of weeks since I have returned from India, and it truly was a once in a lifetime experience. Paula, Lucy and I spent the first week travelling and we got to see some amazing cities including, Jaipur, New Dehli, and Agra, finishing our tour at the breath-taking Taj Mahal. This was a great start to our trip as it allowed us to immerse ourselves into Indias culture, including the amazing food, the humid weather, the busy streets with no traffic rules but most of all it gave us some exposure to the kind, and welcoming nature of Indian people.

My time as a volunteer of Rama Foundation is one I will never forget and will be forever grateful for. This opportunity to pass on any skills of benefit to the staff of Ganga Prem Hospice was something to cherish as a health care professional.

By Artika Datta, Trustee Rama Foundation, Advanced Specialist Dietitian

I have returned from this most recent Rama Foundation (RF) volunteering trip in India with immense satisfaction, gratitude, and pride. It was thrilling to work with really committed and enthusiastic colleagues - our pre-trip meetings really helped us to establish a strong sense of teamworking to work towards a great purpose.