Our Clinical Advisory Group

Dr Shelley is a Paediatric Emergency Medicine Consultant working in a busy hospital in London. Having been involved with Camp Simcha as a volunteer for many years, she has seen first-hand the huge impact it has on the families of children with serious illness.

Dr Shelley has seen the charity expand its remit during that time and reach many more families with different conditions than before.

As the new Medical director of Camp Simcha she wants to bring together various professionals who have been involved in some way and harness their expertise to support the medical work of the organisation.

This will include (but not limited to) educational events for staff and volunteers to give them greater insight into how the various conditions affect our children and their families; specialist support and advice for staff  and timely responses to relevant medical occurrences such as outbreaks of particular infections and their relevance to our families and our practices.

Another part of her role will be to look at the way we collect medical information and classify the types of conditions we cover so that there is accurate reporting and monitoring of trends which will help the charity to plan for the future.

Darryl is a Urology Registrar with an interest in paediatric, adolescent and lifelong urology care. As part of his training, he has spent one year at Great Ormond Street Hospital with the paediatric urology team. As a member of the Camp Simcha clinical advisory group, Darryl can help advise on surgical queries and complex issues, in particular anything urological.

Melinda is a NHS GP Partner in Central London covering a diverse population. She trains and mentors Year 2 Resident Doctors rotating through GP and appraises GP colleagues as part of essential Revalidation.

Vidi Horwich is a Registered Nurse and Emergency Nurse Practitioner with a passion for caring for people both professionally and within the community. He has worked across a variety of healthcare settings and currently practises in community nursing, bringing experience in clinical assessment, urgent care, and supporting patients and families in their own homes.

Vidi has been involved with Camp Simcha since 2013, when he first joined as a volunteer Big Brother. Over the years, he has remained closely connected to the organisation, volunteering on family retreats and serving as the nurse, supporting children with serious illness and their families. These experiences have given him a deep appreciation for the incredible impact Camp Simcha has on the families it supports and the dedicated volunteers who make that support possible.

As a member of Camp Simcha’s Clinical Advisory Group, he is proud to contribute his clinical expertise to help maintain the highest standards of care and safety across the organisation’s programmes. He is passionate about ensuring that Camp Simcha continues to provide a safe, supportive, and enriching environment where children and families can create lasting memories and focus on enjoying life beyond illness.

Jon Keene is a Consultant Paediatrician based in Harlow. In addition to his clinical role he is also the Deputy Chief Medical Officer. His clinical interests include paediatric gastroenterology and ambulatory care.

Jon strongly believes that “hospital is bad for health” when children can be safely cared for in more appropriate settings, and that care should be delivered as close to home and the community as possible. This philosophy guides his clinical practice and has enabled him to support the development of virtual wards helping patients receive safe, high-quality care outside the traditional hospital setting.

Michal Korman is a Paediatric Specialist Haematology/Oncology Nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, where she has worked for the past 15 years

Michal specialised in high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplants for children with solid tumours, working as part of a specialised nursing team. She now works on the ward caring for children undergoing chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments. In addition, Michal is on the Intrathecal Chemotherapy Register and serves as the ward’s link nurse for palliative care patients.

Alongside her nursing career, Michal has been volunteering for Camp Simcha since her teenage years. Over the years, she has accompanied children to camp in America as both a ‘big sister’ and later in a nursing capacity.

Michal is deeply passionate about her work and finds immense reward in helping children through treatment and recovery. Her favourite part of the job is witnessing children ring the ‘end of treatment bell’ – a powerful and emotional milestone.

Claire Lemer is a general paediatrician based at the Evelina London. Alongside her clinical commitment Claire works as the Chief Officer for Strategy and Innovation at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Claire has a background in quality improvement, patient safety, public health and health policy. Claire has an MBA, MD and MPH. Claire is passionate about supporting children and young people in our community, specifically in the education environment and is a Trustee of JCAT, and Kisharon Langdon. Claire further supports the wider needs of children through her trusteeship of the Harris Federation, where she is also a chair of governors of 2 primary schools.

Marion is a highly experienced neuromuscular physiotherapist previously with the Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London, having retired from the NHS in 2024. She currently has an associate contract with UCL to continue teaching and advising on clinical research. Marion studied physiotherapy in Newcastle but has spent most of her career working in London. She worked in spinal injuries, general paediatrics, neonatal intensive care and children’s arthritis before working in neuromuscular disorders for 35 years and was involved in the development of standards of care in SMA, Congenital Muscular Dystrophy and Congenital Myopathies. Marion has considerable experience in research and studied “Design for disability” for her Masters Degree getting two national awards for her work. She has a special interest in the use of orthotics and believes children should be stood from as young as possible. Marion has a love of teaching, having taught all over the world and has been very active during Covid doing regular on-line webinars for parents and children.

Marion now works with several charities including REMAP, Action Duchenne and TreatSMA. She loves walking especially on coastal paths, keeping fit (she has a Labrador which takes her for walks), has run the occasional 10k and still plays netball!

Karen Millett qualified as a Clinical Psychologist at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London
in 1989. She worked in the Barnet CAMHS service for 20 years where she specialised in working
with children, young people, parents and families . Her particular interest was working with
parents around management of children of all ages who are presenting with challenging
behaviours and emotional difficulties .
She has extensive experience helping children, young people and adults who are experiencing
anxiety, depression, phobias, OCD and problems with emotional regulation. She is also trained in
the assessment and management of ADHD and ASD.
Karen now only works privately and is a founder member of the Butterfly Clinic, a private multi
disciplinary team working with children, parents and families.
Karen was Chair of Governors at Mathilda Marks Kennedy School for several years and the last
few years she has been on the Operations Committee of Camp Simcha.

Simon trained in Paediatrics and Paediatric Intensive Care at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), before completing a Fellowship in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In 1991, he joined Professor Mike Levin’s team at St Mary’s Hospital as the Meningococcal Research Fellow and was appointed Consultant in Paediatric Intensive Care in 1994.
His research has focused on the recognition, management, and outcomes of life-threatening infections in children, with a particular interest in improving early diagnosis and critical care.
Simon retired from clinical practice in January but remains actively involved in research, education, and charitable work.

As a doctor for over 20+ years, Dr Porter is currently working as an NHS GP in Golders Green and Mill Hill, privately at Centennial Park in Elstree, and also as a UCL personal academic tutor, clinical tutor and examiner. She is passionate about holistic care of all ages and child health. As a mother of 2 teenagers, who both participated in Camp Simcha’s Bnei Mitzvah Programme, she has enjoyed being involved in helping at camp simcha for several years. Originally from South Africa, Carolyn loves nature, and travelling and being involved in her Edgware community.

I am a recently retired GP, having worked at PHGH doctors surgery in Temple Fortune since 1998. I qualified from Manchester University in 1989 and did my training at Watford General Hospital. I am also joint President of Camp Simcha in my married name (Goldstein), having been involved with the charity for about 20 years.
I have four children who are all grown up now, one grandchild and three dogs who keep me very busy.

Dr Esther Sabel is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist who completed her specialist training at the Tavistock Clinic, London.  Since then, she has been providing clinical leadership to the CAMHS Crisis Team in Hertfordshire, working on the front line, treating young people and their families, within the acute hospital setting, typically following self-harm or suicide attempts.  She has an interest in multi-agency work, paediatric liaison and policy work.  She was one of the authors of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Guidance on Management of Self Harm in Young People in 2014.  She was also a member of the Expert Reference Group for the recent National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH) competency framework for self-harm and suicide prevention in children and young people.  She has presents regularly at national conferences on Self harm and crisis management for young people.

In her early career, following graduating from Manchester Medical School, she has worked as a junior doctor in the Emergency Department in both London and Sydney, as well as in other medical and surgical specialties, prior to training in psychiatry.  She is a postgraduate Clinical Tutor, Educational and Clinical supervisor and an Associate Professor at St George’s Medical School as well as being an approved examiner for the Royal College of Psychiatrists.  She is Deputy Head of School of Psychiatry for the East of England.

In her free time, she enjoys outdoor pursuits and travel as well as speaking French and spending time with her family.