Compassionate cancer nurse from South Uist honoured with prestigious national award
23 October 2024
A nurse who hails from South Uist has recognised by a UK award.
Judges on the Cancer UK award panel say they are “incredibly impressed” by the “outstanding support and compassion” Caroline Trezise (née Peteranna) provides to cancer patients in Wales.
Caroline was also praised for bringing innovative ideas to the University Hospital Wales where she works.
This includes her work developing a service to help patients with peritoneal disease after she identified inequalities in access to treatment.
In addition, judges highlight Caroline for how well she supports patients, making sure they have a smooth journey to their surgery.
Caroline - daughter of Charlie and Katie Peteranna - was brought up in Garryhallie
and educated in Sgoil Lionacleit.
Her nursing journey started at the former Sacred Heart Hospital in Daliburgh in the mid nineties, later completing training at Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow before undertaking a stint in nursing in Hong Kong in 1996.
That was followed by two years in Wellington General Hospital, returning to the UK in 1999 with John Trezise, a Welshman she met in New Zealand.
The couple settled in Penarth, Wales, with Caroline taking up a role as ward manager in Cardiff and the Vale General Hospital for 10 years, later graduating from Cardiff University.
Colleagues nominated her for a Gary Logue Colorectal Cancer Nurse Award because of
her work developing the new all-Wales colorectal peritoneal metastasis service over
the past two years.
The initiative is the first-of-its-kind in Wales and gives bowel cancer patients
that have cancer cells spread to the peritoneum (a thin layer of tissue inside the
abdomen) the opportunity to access treatment that combines surgery with chemotherapy.
Before the service was introduced patients in Wales were offered palliative chemotherapy, unless they applied to receive treatment in England. For suitable patients, the new treatment is shown to lead to survival for five years or more for over 50% who receive it.
Jody Parker, consultant colorectal surgeon at Cardiff and Vale UHB, said: “On top of the organisational and leadership skills Caroline has demonstrated, her compassion and pastoral support are second to none.
“Patients love her. She has a wonderful balance of honesty, openness and kindness and she provides this all to ensure the patient gets the right information and support they need through this difficult process even when it is hard to hear. Having had feedback from both patients and clinicians, Caroline is the unanimous theme in the praise they give.
“Setting up this service has been a challenge for us all and I can honestly say that without Caroline, we would not have been able to deliver this. Like so many nurses that work so hard for their patients, she deserves the recognition and praise for the exceptional person she is.”
Photo: Rachael Silvester
