Katharine Caddick is a Consultant Nurse Hepatology at North Bristol NHS Trust. She is also an FNF Scholar Alumni and in May 2026, Katharine was a Lamp Escort at the Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service at Westminster Abbey. Now a Star Alumni, she shares the impact the Scholarship has had on her.
The Small Stones and the Big Picture
I want to change the world.
Or at least, I want to change it for some people – those living with liver disease. It may be the injustice, the invisibility of these patients, or the deep frustration that things could be so different. Their lives are shortened by inequality, stigma, social deprivation, and late access to healthcare. I want systems that work for them, not against them.
“I want nurses to be visible, valued, skilled, and heard. I want care to be kinder, earlier, clearer, and fairer. “
And yet, some days, my progress is stopped by printer paper.
Not metaphorically. Literally.
The printer doesn’t work, or no one knows who owns it, or it takes five days to identify the correct admin process to fix a problem that should take five minutes.
These small stones in the road can bring even my biggest, sparkliest picture to a grinding halt. The NHS is full of these moments, tiny obstacles that absorb enormous emotional energy.
It’s frustrating because my attention, that finite beam of mental energy, is pulled to the printer when it should be with patients who cannot access care in the same way as others: with cirrhosis affecting around 1% of the population, with people dying younger, more deprived, and more unseen than they should be, and with services that could be different if we were prepared to lead them differently, hold our post, and fight for that change.
"This was why I applied for the Florence Nightingale Foundation Leadership Scholarship – not because I wasn’t already leading, but because I needed space, challenge, and support to lead well and sustainably. "
Katharine Caddick, Consultant Nurse Heptology, North Bristol NHS Trust
This was why I applied for the Florence Nightingale Foundation Leadership Scholarship, not because I wasn’t already leading, but because I needed space, challenge, and support to lead well and sustainably.
I care deeply about developing nurses. That responsibility matters to me as much as looking after patients. But there is something uniquely frightening about having your name sit above clinics, roles, pathways, about being the visible thread that connects responsibility to accountability.
At times, that weight is anxiety-inducing.
At times, it’s overwhelming.
I am not loud. I am not extroverted. My voice is strong, but it is quiet and consistent. For a long time, I didn’t always feel I had the right words. What I have now, shaped by the Florence journey, is something else: the ability to say, “This is uncomfortable, and it needs to be addressed.”
I’ve realised something important about myself: I don’t want to manage things. I want to lead people.
My leadership is about pulling people up from difficult spaces, empowering them, creating access to information, developing systems, and occasionally bringing forward ideas that are met with eye-rolling and sighs before – sometimes – becoming reality.
Alongside this leadership journey, my Quality Improvement work focused on developing an integrated Advanced Chronic Liver Disease MDT to improve outcomes, experience, and equity for patients with decompensated liver disease. It became the starting point for a wider shift in how we think about advanced liver disease, early palliation, and coordinated care. It has since expanded, been refined, and shared through national forums, integrating in-reach, community bridging, and a rapid discharge clinic.
I still feel overwhelm and exasperation at times, but leadership has taught me to step over it, change the narrative, and accept that meaningful progress will often feel uncomfortable before it transforms.
Staying present. Staying steady. Not retreating when the work gets hard.
The most impactful part of the Florence Nightingale Foundation Leadership Scholarship was not a single session or outcome, but the way it fundamentally changed how I think about leadership, pace, and responsibility. Anchoring me more firmly in the big picture and the importance of bringing people with me.
The Florence Nightingale Foundation has changed me, not by making me someone else, but by changing the way I think.
I have learnt to trust my compass, not just my map.
Supported by a personal board of directors who have my ear and help me think clearly when the path feels uncertain.
Already, the scholarship has had a positive impact on my career, not by changing my role, but by helping me fully step into it with confidence, clarity, and legitimacy.
Florence Nightingale wrote: “Rather, ten times, die in the surf, heralding the way to a new world, than stand idly on the shore.”
And so I will keep going – holding my post, stepping over resistance, and refusing to leave impact to chance
Legacy of the Lamp
We are currently looking for missing Lamp Carriers from the Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service. You can view the full list and find out who we need to find to complete this part of history, here.
