Specialist NF Nurses

Nicola Birchall

Nicola is based at Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust alongside Mel Murrell, supporting families across the West Midlands, Staffordshire and Shropshire.

Nicola is a physiotherapist by background and qualified in 2005. She worked in a general rotational post from 2005-2007 and has since worked in children's services, specialising further and working in neurological physiotherapy for the past 11 years.

She has supported children and their families with a wide range of complex conditions, in both hospital and community settings.

Nicola has an interest in holistic care and long-term condition management. She will build on all of these experiences and knowledge as Specialist Advisor.

Sarah Cockcroft

Sarah is a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) for people with NF1, based in Leeds and supporting families across Yorkshire and Humberside. She qualified as a children's nurse in 2011.

Her nursing background includes five years in respiratory nursing; a year of this as a CNS in home ventilation. She then moved into children’s palliative care for six years; she worked as a Practice Educator and then as a CNS in hospice settings.

Sarah is very passionate about caring for patients holistically and working with the wider family. She has experience caring for children and young adults with long term conditions and supporting families through uncertain times.

In her CNS NF1 role, Sarah will share her experiences and look forward to continually learning from patients, their families and the wider team.

Clare Dhillon

Clare is a paediatric nurse who gained experience working on a medical ward at Sheffield Children's Hospital.

She then trained to become a health visitor, working in the community and developing links within the local area, before becoming a nurse specialist, working as an ADHD nurse, supporting patients and reviewing their needs both at home and at school.

She now works as a Specialist NF Nurse at Ryegate Children's Centre and supports patients and their families.

Clare covers the following regions: Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

Siobhan Harding-Lester

Siobhan Harding-Lester accepted the role of lead Genetic Counsellor for NF in 2021, and we invited her to join as an associate to our Specialist NF Support Network.

She completed her MSc in Genetic Counselling in 1999 at Manchester University. She then worked as a Genetic Counsellor in California before returning to the UK in 2004

She is based at Belfast City Hospital and works with the Clinical Genetics Consultant and NF Lead, Dr. Deirdre Donnelly, supporting patients across Northern Ireland.

Lynne Highy

Having qualified at Oxford as a Registered General Nurse in 1984, Lynne now brings her expertise to our National Helpline team. 

After qualifying as a School Nurse, Lynne worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Cystic Fibrosis for five years.

Throughout her clinical experience she has nursed & supported both children & adults with a diverse range of illnesses.

Lynne has a particular interest & passion for NF as her youngest daughter has NF1, which has given her a greater understanding on its impact within the family unit. 

Gill Jones

Gill qualified as a Registered Paediatric Nurse in January 1999, working at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool from 1999 to 2004. 

She then worked as a Children’s Complex Needs Community Nurse, working both in the community and in a Specialist Educational Needs School.

Since 2018, Gill has worked as a Paediatric Neurology Nurse Specialist at Alder Hey, working with children and young people with demyelination and neuroinflammatory conditions. She is a non-medical prescriber and runs a nurse-led clinic.

Gill joined Nerve Tumours UK as a Specialist Neurofibromatosis Nurse in October 2025, and is based at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, covering Merseyside, up to Cumbria and down to Wales.

Tracey Kenyon

Tracey trained as an adult and paediatric nurse and Health Visitor.

After acquiring a range of experience in paediatric nursing she moved into Health Visiting before moving into child development and disability services, initially as a Specialist Health Visitor, then a Nurse Consultant.

Since then, Tracey has been involved in teaching and working for the DWP, but working from home made her realise she wanted to return to working with people. She is now based at Wessex Clinical Genetics Service in Southampton.

Tracey covers the following regions: Hampshire, Dorset, some of West Sussex, Wiltshire and the Isle of Wight.

Melanie Murrell

Melanie Murrell currently works at Birmingham Women's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, working with adults and children who have NF1.

She wanted to focus on her career and wanted a new challenge that she thought could apply all her knowledge and experience to that she has gained over 30 years. 

Melanie covers the following regions: Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Coventry.

Rebecca Rennison

Rebecca joined the charity in 2018. She works at the Genetics Institute at the Centre for Life in Newcastle. 

She qualified as an RGN in 1993 at Northumbria University and went on to work in anaesthetics and recovery at the Freeman and Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne.

During this period she also completed paediatric nursing. She has worked in young people's and adult services in County Durham and Northumberland. 

Carolyn Smyth

Carolyn qualified as a Registered General Nurse in 1986 and is based at the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. She has a wide variety of experience including high dependency, community and research nursing.

Carolyn has worked in genetics since 1994 on a project with Birmingham University and Diabetes UK trying to identify genes for Type 1 Diabetes.

Carolyn started working for the charity in 2000 and has a particular interest in learning difficulties associated with NF1. 

Carolyn is employed by the charity to operate the National Helpline.

Helen Swann

Helen qualified as a general nurse in 1985 & moved into midwifery, working there for 16 years before becoming a health visitor in 2006.

Throughout her clinical experience, she has nursed, supported, and educated families and children with a diverse range of illnesses and conditions both in hospital and in the community, seeking to initiate change and improve health. She completed an MSc at Cardiff University which involved an in-depth study of children’s developmental assessments.

She joined the team as the first Specialist NF Nurse for Wales, based at the University Hospital in Cardiff.

Helen covers the following regions: Wales.

Helen Tomkins

Helen, having previously qualified as an Occupational Therapist, completed her post-graduate training in Family Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. She always looks to provide holistic care for her patients.

She is based at the Derriford Hospital in Plymouth and supports those diagnosed with both NF1 and NF2.

Helen covers the following regions: Devon and Cornwall.

Jessica York

Jessica joined the team at the beginning of March 2024. She is based in Plymouth, working alongside Helen Tomkins and other healthcare professionals, supporting families across Devon and Cornwall.

Jessica registered as an Adult Registered Nurse in 2018 and has worked in the care industry since 2012, recently transferring from a junior sister role on an acute ward. 

Before this, she worked on a surgical ward as a newly qualified nurse. In her nursing career she specialised in a variety of areas, mainly in high dependency, surgical and oncology care.