Saturday 8^th March marks International Women’s Day – a global celebration of women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. Each year, this day is a powerful showcase of the progress being made towards gender equality, and highlights the work that still needs to be done – especially pertinent due to this year’s theme of ‘Accelerate Action’. This theme highlights the urgent need to take swift and decisive steps toward achieving gender equality in all areas of life.

This theme also resonates strongly in the healthcare sector. Our Build to Beat Breast Cancer Appeal, in partnership with Prevent Breast Cancer, was born out of the urgent need for a new national training academy for breast cancer professionals. The academy, which broke ground in November 2024, will train the future of breast clinicians, leading to shorter waiting times and increased survival rates.

In February 2025, we invited guests to an interactive event where they were able to hear from guest speakers, learn from expert clinicians about breast self-exams, and enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of our brand-new training suite.

Among those speakers were Katy Ellis and Lisa Thomas – for International Women’s Day 2025, we spoke to them about their careers in breast services here at MFT.

Katy Ellis

Katy is a Nurse Consultant in Breast Care at the Nightingale Breast Unit, Wythenshawe Hospital.

Can you tell us a bit about your role?

I’m involved in the four pillars of advanced practise (leadership, education, research and clinical practice) so it’s a varied role. Leadership is a strong  part of what I do as a nurse consultant. Leadership of the nursing teams, getting involved in the day-to-day operational stuff that’s going on and supporting other people. Leading on all sorts of projects – we do  a lot of auditing and deciding what we need to change and make quality improvements on.

I do have  structure, I tend have clinics at set times throughout the week. That way we’ve got a bit of order, but around that everything’s fluid depending on what’s going on. Every day is different, which is quite nice really.

What was your career path to this role?

It was a long time ago! I qualified in 1996, and at that time I went to work as a scrub nurse in the operating theatres. I loved my time in theatres, and after I’d been there for a number of years I became a surgical care practitioner. Back in the day when I first did it we would call it surgical assistants, but they’re not called that now. We would assist with the surgery like a doctor would, so a consultant would be doing the operation and we would be a second pair of hands doing the operation with the surgeon.

I worked across all different specialties but one of the areas that I really focused on was breast. One of the main reasons for this was that breast was, in the hospital I worked in at the time, a really small unit with no junior medical team. They had a gap where somebody could come in and help. I ended up being really involved with breast patients and enjoyed that.

Eventually, I came out of theatres because there was more going on outside of the theatre that needed me than inside, so I became a clinical nurse specialist in breast cancer. I fell in love with the speciality . I did a master’s degree in advanced clinical practise, but stayed in breast as well. And when I came over to Wythenshawe, after I’d been here a short while, they were looking for a nurse consultant. They didn’t have one in the department and I was approached to see whether that was something I’d be interested in. We were a very junior and small group at the time, and we’ve since grown – there’s now four of us full time and we’re looking to expand even further.

Did you always know you wanted to be in healthcare?

Bizarrely, no. I didn’t know what I wanted to do while I was at school. I’ve got a creative brain, but I didn’t really know what. All avenues were open. But my mum was a nurse, so when I was unsure what to do after school, she said “why don’t you try a healthcare course and see what you think?” She obviously saw something in me that I hadn’t seen in myself.

I did a course at college and had some work experience in Manchester Royal Infirmary. I spent a couple of weeks on a neurosurgical ward and absolutely loved it. The minute I was on that ward and in the theatres and watching operations I just thought: I want to do this. Lots of people have that dream of wanting to be something from a tiny child and that’s all they ever want to do. But my mum recognised something in me and, well, here I am. So, I’ve done alright!

What has your involvement in the Build to Beat Breast Cancer Appeal and the National Breast Imaging Academy been?

Myself and my colleague, Claire, recognised that there was a gap in our training when we did our master’s degrees, that there wasn’t an awful lot of time spent on talking about breast and how to examine breasts and all the things that go along with that. We recognised that this was a real gap for people and felt we wanted to develop something.

We approached the National Breast Imaging Academy (they work in the same building we do) and said standardised training was something we wanted to develop and they were really keen to support. They recognised it as a gap not just for nursing but in other specialties too. So we thought, we’ll design something and see what happens.

It’s been very successful! We could put it on even more than two times a year because we’re always full and we’ve always got a waitlist. We can’t do that currently because we don’t have the resource to. It’s a very intense course, but it’s really rewarding and well evaluated. For the past few years, that’s what we’ve been working closely with them on, to support the different staff who work in breast care.

How important is the Build to Beat Breast Cancer appeal for the women of Greater Manchester?

Hugely, I can’t stress enough how important it is. Essentially, everything revolves around imaging. Everything revolves around having access to mammograms and scans and having that specialist who is able to provide that service. We know there’s a national shortage of people that can provide these services. Anything we can do to support that and help provide these services for our patients means earlier treatment and better outcomes. So, it’s absolutely crucial that we have something like the National Breast Imaging Academy to provide that structured training.

You spoke at our event in support of the appeal last month – can you tell us a bit about what you shared during that talk?

I talked about clinical breast examination because that’s the course we run, but we made it very practical. We didn’t just want to do a PowerPoint presentation, we actually got the mannequins out and we teach people how to breast examine. The people we speak to, even if they’re not clinical, if we teach them how to examine themselves, they can take that away and share it with their children or their friends.

It was really well received. The audience was able to ask a lot of questions and find out a bit more about our jobs and how important all of this is for us.

The theme of International Women’s Day this year is “Accelerate Action” – how do you think this ties into this appeal and healthcare more generally?

Where do you start? I’m passionate about the fact that we’re so busy reacting that we’re not always looking at the beginning, looking at where a difference can be made. Everything takes so long, and sometimes you can lose the drive or the impetus because it takes so long. But that’s where the NBIA have been brilliant. They hit the ground running and they’ve continued to do that and not slowed down. They’ve really accelerated the pace of making a real difference. It just shows you what can be done when people step out of the clinical environment and really focus. Mary Wilson is a huge driving force for the NBIA, without someone like that it wouldn’t happen, she’s a powerhouse.

Lisa Thomas

Lisa is an Assistant Practitioner in Mammography in the Nightingale Centre, Wythenshawe Hospital.

Can you tell us a bit about your role?

I am trained to perform X-rays of women’s breasts, called mammogram examinations. As a Mammographer, I work predominantly for the NHS Greater Manchester Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP). All women registered with a GP are invited for their screening mammograms between the ages of 50 and 70 and are encouraged to self-refer after the age of 70 when invites are no longer sent.

I work across Greater Manchester at six screening sites, which can involve a lot of travelling, but this makes it much more accessible and convenient for the clients. This is important to encourage women to attend. I also work at the Nightingale Centre, Wythenshawe Hospital, which is my base. My role at the centre can be a little more varied due to several different clinics, including symptomatic, follow-up patients, and family history. I enjoy working within the department, whether performing a mammogram or assisting the radiographers and radiologists with procedures like biopsies.

What was your career path to this role?

When I left school, I was passionate about fashion, so I naturally moved into the retail industry. I didn’t go to college, but I completed several qualifications in Retail and Customer Service. I worked for the same company for 20 years, gaining experience in all areas of the business: buying stock, managing shops, recruitment, window dressing, fashion shows and selling to other retailers. You name it, did it! I loved the environment and thought this would be my career for life.

Then, in my late 30s, I had a little spare time and decided to volunteer at a local stroke rehab unit. I absolutely loved it. It gave me my first real insight into the NHS and how essential its services are. That experience inspired me to change careers. I started working as a Healthcare Assistant on a cardiac ward, then at The Christie, and later in outpatients. It was in outpatients that I began assisting in a breast clinic with ultrasounds. I quickly developed an interest in this area.

One of the radiologists noticed my enthusiasm and suggested I look into working in Mammography. I researched opportunities, observed a few examinations, and thought, I can do this. That’s where my journey in mammography began.

There were two routes into mammography at the time – complete a three-year Radiography degree, followed by one year’s postgraduate study; or apply for a post as a trainee Mammography Associate and complete a 12-month training course, paid for by the employer.

I applied, interviewed, and was offered a trainee Mammography Associate role. It was the perfect opportunity for me at the time. At the age of 44, with a mortgage, a young son, and financial commitments, pursuing a three-year Radiography degree wasn’t feasible.

At the time, there was no apprenticeship programme in place, so I completed a training course, which was paid for by the department. The academic teaching was in London, and my clinical training was on the job here, at the Nightingale Centre and on the mobile screening vans. The training was challenging at times, but the team here at the Nightingale Centre was absolutely amazing. I had dedicated time to focus on the academic side, and Lyndsay, our training lead, was always there to support and guide me. I was proud to finish the course with a distinction.

What is your involvement in the Build to Beat Breast Cancer Appeal?
The National Breast Imaging Academy is leading the way by developing an apprenticeship route for Mammography Associates. The apprenticeship has been up and running nationally since 2019, and nearly 200 people have been trained via this route. The benefits of the apprenticeship are that it is much more cost-effective than the route I took. The course fees are paid by the Apprenticeship Levy, so there’s no cost to departments. In addition, the training is now standardised and nationally recognised.

I’m passionate about raising money for the Academy. There’s a group of people for whom going to university is not feasible, this could be due to financial concerns, as three years at university for a radiography degree followed by a year for mammography adds up to four years. Or it may simply not suit them. The Academy is so important in supporting and helping to bridge a gap in the workforce shortage we’re experiencing within breast imaging.

I started fundraising for the Academy a few years ago, taking part in the Morecambe Bay walk and the Camino de Santiago, which raised £55,000, arranged and supported by Prevent Breast Cancer. Following the Camino, Prevent challenged me to come up with an event to involve the department while raising money for the Academy. The Mammary Walk 2024 was born. I managed to encourage 50 of our breast nurses, radiologists, radiographers, mammographers, and other supporting staff to wear large inflatable breast costumes and walk 10k around Greater Manchester.

It was a huge success. The day was amazing, and the atmosphere was uplifting as the people of Manchester embraced us. Our message to check your breasts and attend your mammograms was noticed. We also raised £33,000. The Mammary Walk 2025 is already in planning, so watch this space!

How important is the Build to Beat Breast Cancer Appeal for the women of Greater Manchester?

This appeal, and the Academy it will help build, is crucial to Greater Manchester and its breast services. We need more breast imaging staff to ensure we can continue providing the best service possible and keep offering routine screening appointments to the women of Greater Manchester and surrounding areas.

With today being International Women’s Day, is there anything else you’d like to share about the importance of this day in the healthcare sector?

Training to become a Mammographer in my late 30s was a bold step onto a completely different career path, and it’s a reminder that it’s never too late to pursue your passions. Being part of our breast services and the new academy has allowed me to support and empower women by performing their breast screenings and helping them take charge of their health. So, on International Women’s Day, I’m proud to celebrate the strength and determination of women who look after their well-being, and of those who embrace new challenges at any stage of life.