As CNO/director Professor McMahon has professional responsibility for two thirds of the NHS Scotland workforce as his role has responsibility for nursing, midwifery, allied healthcare professionals and healthcare scientists. He also leads on a number of key policy areas such as infection prevention control. He has worked across the NHS, private sector, government and the RCN in previous posts. He holds two honorary professorships with the University of Stirling and Queen Margaret University.
Ms Bunce, a senior palliative care nurse, worked for nearly a decade as director of care at Ardgowan Hospice. Today, as a Queen’s Nurse, she is the founder, leader and guiding force of Compassionate Inverclyde, supported by Ardgowan Hospice and Inverclyde Health and Social Care Partnership. She has combined her MSc in palliative care and an MBA with her community nursing experiences to inspire and coordinate an extraordinary set of community activities, supporting those most in need. It is a positive, pragmatic way of inspiring and mobilising people’s energy, kindness and willingness to help.
Ms Bunce was the RCN Nurse of the Year 2022.
Ms Dinning is a senior lecturer (adult nursing) at the University of the West of England. She is passionate about facilitating high-quality education and professional development for undergraduate and newly qualified nurses and other members of the multiprofessional team to develop their confidence, knowledge and clinical skills in practice. She advocates for safe person-centred patient care. She is also keen to support international colleagues who join the NHS community. Ms Dinning has had several national roles, was chair and member of the National Outreach Forum executive board, and she is proud to be chair of the RCNi editorial advisory board.
Passionate about nurturing people to achieve their full potential, Ms Astle is driven to deliver the highest quality of person-centred and relationship-focused care. Over the past 33 years, she has gained a wealth of experience leading teams to support those living in nursing homes.
She has commissioned new homes, managed groups of homes and worked strategically with health authorities and local authorities representing the independent sector at a local, regional and national level. Awarded an MBE in 2014 for services to Older People, she is a fellow for Skills for Care, a board member of the National Care Association and a governor for a mental health trust.
At Healthcare Improvement Scotland Ms Gow provides leadership for NMAHP professionals and their teams to continuously improve care. Under her direction, the NMAHP directorate leads on the development of the Scottish Quality Management system for Nursing and Midwifery; Excellence in Care. She is also responsible for supporting the implementation of newly introduced safe staffing legislation in Scotland, working closely with government, healthcare professionals and employing boards to achieve this. As deputy chief executive, she leads the internal improvement programme. Ms Gow is chair of the Scottish Executive Nurse Directors, adviser to the RCN Foundation grants committee and is a Fellow of the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland.
Since qualifying, Ms Croudass has worked in a variety of clinical and research settings. She is the lead research nurse at Cancer Research UK, where she heads up a national team of 15 senior research nurses. In this role, she works strategically and operationally to ensure that clinical research, and research nursing, are recognised as crucial to good quality cancer care.
Ms Trotter, a registered children’s nurse and adult nurse, is assistant director for education and standards in the Professional Practice directorate at the NMC. Her role includes leading on the development of new standards and guidance for nursing and midwifery professions, including the recent Code campaign animation series Caring with Confidence. She led on the education change programme that has successfully published new standards for Future Nurse, Future Midwife, and on the education and training standards that include the new standards for student supervision and assessment, and nurse and midwife prescriber standards. She also led on the recent review of the post-registration standards that were published in July 2022.
Senior lecturer and consultant editor Barry Quinn has a nursing career spanning three decades as clinician, researcher, educator and writer.
Alongside his commitments at Queen’s University Belfast, he is school academic lead for equality, diversity and inclusion.
Dr Quinn’s interests include symptom management in advanced disease, inclusion in diversity, the person behind the illness and nursing leadership.
He is a frequent key-note speaker at national and international meetings and has published articles and book chapters on a range of nursing issues.
Dr Quinn is the consultant editor for Nursing Management and an editorial board member for Cancer Nursing Practice, both published by RCNi.
Professor Johnston is a clinical academic and holds the post of clinical professor of nursing and palliative care at the University of Glasgow. She is also director of research for the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow. She was made a fellow of the Royal College of Nursing in 2019. She is also chair of the RCN Research Society. She is a registered nurse and has a clinical, educational and research background in palliative and end of life care and leads a palliative care research group at the University of Glasgow.
Ms Craig is associate director healthcare staffing and care assurance at Healthcare Improvement Scotland. She joined Healthcare Improvement Scotland in June 2021 as associate director for the Healthcare Staffing and Excellence in Care Programmes. Ms Craig, a registered adult nurse, has had a varied career working across acute and community nursing clinically and in professional nursing leadership roles. She is passionate about ensuring that service users receive high quality healthcare and that staff are supported and enabled to consistently deliver high quality person-centred care.
Dr Henshall is associate director of nursing and midwifery for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). She is programme director for the NIHR Senior Research Leader Programme for Nurses and Midwives and holds a clinical academic role in Oxford where she is a reader in nursing and nursing, midwifery and allied health professional lead for research at Oxford Brookes University and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. Her research focuses on nursing workforce development, cancer care and mental health. She also chairs the Research Interest Group for Lung Cancer Nursing.
Mr Dlamini is a learning disabilities nurse and a senior lecturer at the University of Salford. He has spent most of his career working as a children's community nurse supporting children and young people with a learning disability. As well as being a nurse, Mr Dlamini is an academic who enjoys teaching future learning disabilities nurses.
Ms Büchner is the assistant director of digital health & nursing in the Digital Health and Care Team NI. This role supports and promotes the sustainable regional development of digital health and informatics. Ms Büchner has recently led the design and development of the new Digital Health and Care Strategy for NI. Since qualifying from the University of Ulster, she has held a variety of clinical, research and project management positions, during which time she completed an MSc in health informatics with the University of Central Lancashire. She also lectured at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast.
Crystal Oldman CBE is chief executive of the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI), and a governing body nurse with Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group.
Dr Oldman spent 18 years in higher education, where her role as dean included the development of evidence-based practice in the integrated community nursing, primary and social care workforce. Her interest in leadership and management inspired her doctoral studies.
In 2017, she was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to community nursing and her leadership of the QNI. Dr Oldman is an honorary professor at London South Bank University.
Professor Kelly has held the RCN chair of nursing research at Cardiff University since 2011. He is a visiting professor at Edinburgh University, University College London and Oxford Brookes University. His current research interests include cancer prevention, especially the potential of greater awareness of HPV vaccination and screening to protect young people from cancer. He has co-chaired the European Cancer Organisation’s HPV Action Network since 2019. He is a fellow of the RCN and was awarded an OBE in the 2021 new year honours for his national and international contribution to research and education in cancer care.
Mr Harling, a learning disability and mental health nurse, is the national deputy director for learning disability nursing at NHS England. He has worked in a senior capacity at a local, regional and national level, and has more than 30 years’ experience; including posts as national patient safety lead for learning disability, national head of learning disability nursing for NHS Improvement, clinical director, consultant nurse, and Strategic Health Authority clinical lead. He is passionate about the delivery of high quality, person-centred health and care services, and is a staunch advocate for empowering people who use services and their families to be equal partners.
Mr Williams, head of service, Salford Learning Disabilities, Transition and Sensory at the Northern Care Alliance, completed his learning disability nurse training in 2001 and holds a diploma in social work. He chairs the influential North Learning Disability Nurses network and also chairs the North West Positive Behavioural Support network. He has worked with RCNi in the development of the National Learning Disability Nursing conference from 2014 to present. Mr Williams is part of the relaunch for the Greater Manchester Learning Disability Forum. Since 2014 he has been an invited member of the National Challenging Behaviour Strategy Group steering committee.
Ms Evans is UK professional lead in the Nursing Department at the RCN. She has worked in the community for the past 22 years. Most recently, she was a clinical nurse specialist in the community for 12 years and before that a district nurse SPQ team leader. Ms Evans is an advocate of lifelong learning and completed an MSc in healthcare leadership in 2020.
Professor Sturdy was appointed as the first chief nurse for adult social care in 2021. She has held a number of roles including senior posts in practice, research and policy, in social care services and the NHS. She was appointed the expert nurse on the Gosport Independent Panel, the report of which was laid before Parliament in 2018. She holds two visiting chairs in nursing at Manchester Metropolitan and Buckinghamshire New universities. Professor Sturdy was awarded a CBE in the 2023 Honours List and an OBE in 2017. She is a Fellow of the QNI and the RCN.
Ms Korea is director of the RCN Foundation, an independent charity and grant-maker that supports nursing and midwifery staff. She began her career as a parliamentary researcher and speechwriter, moving on to work in the public sector, before finally finding her true calling in the not-for-profit sector. She has more than 30 years’ experience in a wide range of roles in the education, disability and health sectors, with the past 15 years spent as a charity chief executive.
Ms Thiruchelvam, a Queen’s Nurse, undertook combined RGN/RHV undergraduate training at the University of Liverpool. She also has a post-graduate diploma in tropical nursing and a master’s in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Ms Thiruchelvam has worked in community service, health protection, commissioning and public health. She has led on various public health priorities including children, maternity and health protection programmes. She worked for the national commissioning and health improvement team at NHS England on the Health Visiting Call to Action Programme, implementation of NICE guidance on behaviour change in support of ‘making every contact count’ and Transforming Primary Care Programme.
Mr Barron is director of care at Erskine, supporting the delivery of person-centred, relationship-based care for the older veteran residents and spouses across the charity’s three care homes. He chaired the Independent Review into the Delivery of Forensic Mental Health Services in Scotland, his report was presented to ministers in February 2021. Previously he was North Ayrshire Integrated Joint Board lead nurse and associate nurse director for mental health. He worked in NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde for more than 20 years. In 2016 he received a Life Time Achievement Award from the Mental Health Nursing Forum Scotland; in 2017 he was appointed a Fellow of the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland recognising his contribution to community nursing in Scotland.
Mr Wood works for the forensic community mental health team, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, South Wales. Along with his colleague Kevin Hale, he created and co-facilitates the Recovery Through Sport programme. Mr Wood continually looks for ways to enhance and improve the service. He is working towards completing a level 3 personal training qualification. Mr Wood and Mr Hale won the Nursing Support Worker category of the 2022 RCN Nursing Awards.
An international award-winning nurse academic, Professor Halcomb is the first international editor of RCNi’s Nurse Researcher and the inaugural professor of primary healthcare nursing at the University of Wollongong. She leads a strong research programme in primary care nursing, with particular emphasis on nursing in general practice, chronic disease and nursing workforce issues. Professor Halcomb has authored more than 225 peer-reviewed papers, 35 book chapters and been an investigator on grants worth over AUD$9 million.
Ms Nicholson, a Queen’s nurse, collaborates with general practice to maximize learning from claims, reduce any future harm and support early and effective engagement in primary care. She is passionate about primary care and improving patient care through lessons learned, education and sharing information to the workforce to ensure safe and effective services. She holds a master’s in advanced practice, specialising in management and leadership. Ms Nicholson has worked across directorates in primary, secondary and community care in a variety of senior roles, focusing on patient safety, education and the nursing workforce.
Ms Harnett has had a varied, thirty-year career working in the public, private and commercial sectors. In 2019 Emma took on a new role as Macmillan education lead nurse at Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board. Just one week later she found out that she had cancer. On return to the role in 2020, with a new perspective and with the help of colleagues Ann Nutt and Shahid Sardar, she co-founded the One Step at a Time initiative. The initiative puts patients at the front and centre of care. In 2022, the team received the prestigious RCN Team of the Year award.
Professor Hails is consultant nurse at CAMHS, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, a visiting professor at the University of South Wales and an associate professor at the Medical School Swansea University. He was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours 2022 for services to children and young people’s mental health in Wales. He is the director of therapeutic and clinical governance at Adferiad Recovery. He is the chair and a fellow of the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists and a fellow of the Bevan Commission. He is a member of the RCN Wales Board and the RCN children and young people’s mental health experts reference group.
Ms Kwaku has more than 31 years’ nursing experience, specialised in general intensive care/cardiac nursing. She holds a senior nursing and national role in the NHS. She is passionate about clinical practice ensuring that patients as well as staff are at the centre of care. She believes an undervalued workforce leads to poor care delivery. She coaches and mentors individuals and considers mentoring to be a fundamental responsibility that allows individuals to grow and develop. Ms Kwaku sits on several committees, forums and charities. She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2020 for services to nursing during COVID-19.
Mr Fernando, associate director of nursing and quality for the NELFT NHS Foundation Trust, is a compassionate and inclusive leader with more than 30 years’ experience as a nurse. He is the founding director of the Filipino Nurses Association UK, which won the Community Initiative of the Year Award in 2021 for its work during the pandemic. Mr Fernando was named as one of the 50 most influential BAME leaders in healthcare by the Health Service Journal in 2021, and he won the 2021 Compassionate and Inclusive Leader of the Year award.
Gary Mitchell is a registered nurse and lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast. Dr Mitchell has published a book, written more than 60 peer-reviewed articles in healthcare journals and presented at a range of international conferences. In his role as lecturer, he is responsible for teaching undergraduate/postgraduate nurses and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
In his school, he is the academic lead for peer-mentorship. He is also a Council of Deans #150 Leaders coach and the chair of the RCN’s older people’s nursing forum. He holds the title of Queen’s Nurse.
Mr Wainright has worked as a learning disability nurse and nurse leader in health and social care settings for more than 30 years. He has worked on many exciting and innovative projects, and is particularly interested in inclusion, neurodivergence and supporting non-linguistic communication. In 2020 he was awarded Stonewall Ally of the Year for Yorkshire and the Humber in recognition of work to support LGBTQ+ people with learning disabilities. In the same year Mr Wainright founded the Unsafe Swallow Project to help reduce the number of avoidable deaths because of aspiration pneumonia.
Ms Padmore-Payne was a stakeholder in reshaping the new paediatric integrated unit, ensuring guidelines were aligned nationally. She remains affiliated with the South Thames Sickle and Thalassaemia Network, the Sickle Cell Society UK and the UK Thalassaemia Society as well as the UK Forum for Haemoglobinopathies. An affiliate of the Roald Dahl Charity, she provides guidance and support to colleagues nationally as a mentor, as well as to children and young adults across services.
Ms Padmore-Payne has a special interest in haemoglobinopathies and transition pathways/processes from paediatric to adult services. She is a past winner in the Child Health category of the 2020 RCNi Nursing Awards.
Mr Dix joined Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board in April 2019 from the University Hospital Plymouth NHS Trust, where he had been the chief nurse since February 2013 and, for a period of time, held the chief nurse and chief operating officer roles.
Educated to master’s level, holding an academic nursing, teaching and medical law qualification, he has a wealth of clinical, managerial and educational experience in the UK and New Zealand. He holds two visiting professorial roles at the University of South Wales and the University of Plymouth.
Professor Westwood has been the CEO of the Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) since September 2019, joining as chief operating officer in 2017. She is a registered nurse and an FNF alumna (2012 Leadership Scholar). She qualified as a nurse in 1983 and a midwife in 1987, and completed a PhD in nursing in 2010. Professor Westwood’s career has spanned general nursing, midwifery, clinical genetics and clinical academic roles. In 2021, she was awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours List for services to nursing and midwifery.
Ms Kaur, whose background is in critical care and occupational health nursing, is the lead TB nurse specialist at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. She is also chair of the RCN public health forum and vice chair of the RCN forum chairs committee. Her day-to-day role is in the community with children and adults or families, liaising with community organisation and colleagues, including GP practices. She also provides awareness/education to healthcare workers and the public.
Ms Powell is a mental health and learning disability nurse. Most of her career has been in Scotland where she worked clinically in hospital and community services, was a lecturer and teaching Fellow at Edinburgh Napier University, a professional adviser for Scottish Government and a programme director at NHS Education for Scotland. In March 2020 she joined CNO Wales as nursing officer for mental health and learning disability where she provided professional advice on nursing practice and education to Welsh Government. She returned to Swansea Bay, University Health Board in March 2022 as deputy executive director of nursing and patient experience.
Ms Balsdon is acting chief nursing information officer at NHS England. Her work seeks to ensure that nursing practice is supported by digital technology and data science, and that nurses are equipped to work and lead in a digitally enabled environment. Ms Balsdon is also responsible for the digital clinical safety strategy and interoperable medicines programme. Previously, Ms Balsdon was CNIO/head of nursing at Cambridge University Hospitals. This was a strategic role working across the organisation providing clinical leadership for all aspects of informatics including adoption and use of new ways of working using technology.
Hilda Hayo has been the chief Admiral Nurse and CEO for Dementia UK, the charity supporting families facing dementia through specialist dementia nurses, since 2013. A dual registered nurse, Dr Hayo has more than 38 years’ experience of working with people diagnosed with dementia and their families. During this time, she has held senior positions in clinical services, hospital management and higher education. She held principal lecturer posts at London South Bank University and University of Northampton, specialising in older people’s mental health, dementia and community care.
Jane is a standing member of the NICE Quality Standards Advisory Committee with a remit for public health. She led the establishment and roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Lancashire and South Cumbria, developing a nurse-led mass vaccination service. She is a technical adviser to the World Health Organization’s collaborating centre for public health nursing and midwifery at Public Health England. Ms Scattergood is a Queen’s Nurse and is qualified as a nurse, midwife and specialist community public health nurse.
Ms Caguioa trained as a nurse in the Philippines and worked in various specialties in the NHS for the past 23 years. As lead nurse for vascular access, she was named the BJN’s IV Therapy Nurse of the Year in 2016. She has an MSc in healthcare leadership. Ms Caguioa is the first Filipino chief nursing officer’s BAME nurse adviser for COVID-19 at NHS England. Her workstreams include scoping and engaging with international nursing and midwifery associations on improving pastoral care and professional support of internationally recruited nurses. She is currently on secondment as head of global at the Florence Nightingale Foundation.
Ms Rodgers is deputy nurse director for corporate and community services at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. In 2012 she became the first children’s nurse to complete the Scottish Patient Safety Fellowship. In 2019 she was named Scottish Woman of the Year for services to medicine and later that year received an MBE in the New Year Honours list for services to healthcare. Ms Rodgers is an advocate of person-centred and family integrated care, and her original project asking children to draw or write ‘what matters to me’ posters was an integral part of the Scottish Person Centred Care Collaborative and the international ‘what matters to you’ movement.
Ms Sprinks is editor of Cancer Nursing Practice and co-editor of Nursing Management. She has worked as a journalist for more than 15 years for a range of national and trade titles, including the Independent, the Guardian and the Local Government Chronicle. She joined RCNi ten years ago as a news reporter for Nursing Standard. Before taking up this post, she worked as a freelance journalist and communications consultant. She was also the media manager for the think tank, the Local Government Information Unit. She has a bachelor of science degree in European Union studies and a master of science degree in development studies.
Ms Hargroves started her clinical research career in 1998 at University College London Hospitals where she was the first clinical research nurse in haematology. She managed the team as it expanded to more than 50 staff, and in early 2022 took on a CRUK senior research nurse role giving her an opportunity to focus on staff education, leadership and patient engagement. In 2022 Ms Hargroves won the RCN Excellence in Cancer Research Nursing award for her role in designing and delivering a four-day educational programme for staff new to clinical research.
Dr Myers has more than 37 years’ experience as a strategic nurse leader, consultant and educator in community children’s nursing services in London. she was an associate director for health services and chief nurse in Kingston until 2019. She now runs an independent consultancy company offering coaching, mentoring and career support. Dr Myers is a 2018 Florence Nightingale Foundation Leadership Scholar and a trustee and Fellow of the Queen’s Nursing Institute. Dr Myers is a multi-award-winning nurse and received an OBE for services to children and nursing in the Queens’ Birthday Honours List in 2013.
Ms Bosanquet started her nursing career aged 16 when she undertook a pre-nursing programme at her local college. Over the next 30 years, Ms Bosanquet explored a wide range of roles and care contexts, eventually settling into roles in public health as a health visitor, nurse consultant and deputy chief nurse for Public Health England. She is interested in health equity, social determinants of health and well-being, co-production and person-centred cultures of care. In 2019, she moved into the charity sector in England where she leads an exciting nursing charity into its next phase. The Foundation of Nursing Studies focuses on person-centredness, healthful workplace cultures and care that is values based, safe and caring.
Mr Beebee is the RCN’s professional lead for learning disability nursing and neuroscience. He is a registered learning disability nurse and CEO and nurse consultant for PBS4, a clinically led social care provider for people with learning disabilities. His key interests include positive behaviour support, profound and multiple learning disabilities, and working with people who have been in contact with the Criminal Justice System. Previously, Mr Beebee has worked for the Care Quality Commission, Department of Health and Social Care, NHS trusts and national social care providers.
Ms Cosgrove is NHS Professionals’ chief nurse and director of clinical governance. During her extensive career, she has held senior leadership roles at large teaching and district general hospitals as well as in commissioning. She joined NHS Professionals from her chief nurse post at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust in 2020. She was also chief nurse and deputy CEO at the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West. During her time at NHS Professionals, she has ensured she has strengthened the focus on nursing and patient safety throughout the organisation and championed the voice of the flexible nursing workforce.
In her 25-year nursing career, Ms Bonner has worked in a number of large and complex NHS organisations in London. She holds a diploma and a BSc(Hons) in nursing and an MSc in advanced practice leadership from King’s College University. She is a graduate from the NHS Leadership Academy and Nye Bevan programme for aspiring directors. Ms Bonner is a member of the Workforce Race Equality Standard strategic advisory group and was recognised by the Health Service Journal in 2021 as one of the 50 most influential Black, Asian and minority ethnic people in health.
Mr Hale is an assistant practitioner for the Forensic Mental Health Service, Cardiff and Vale University Health Bord, South Wales, and has more than12 years’ experience working in mental health services. With his colleague Dorian Wood he set up the Recovery Through Sport provision programme, which engages mental health service users. In 2022 he completed a level 4 university course in substance misuse and addiction. Mr Hale is studying to become a personal trainer. Mr Hale and Mr Wood won the Nursing Support Worker category of the 2022 RCN Nursing Awards.
Professor Serrant is regional lead nurse for Health Education England (North East and Yorkshire) and professor of community and public health nursing at Manchester Metropolitan University. She has extensive experience in national and international health policy development with particular specialist input on racial and ethnic inequalities and cultural safety. It was this work that led to her being awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list 2018 for services to health policy. She is listed eighth in the top 100 most influential Black people in the UK by the Powerlist UK.
Mr Gombedza’s focus is on using digital technologies to enhance patient outcomes. He is involved in several organizations aligned with this objective, including the Florence Nightingale Clinical Supervision Subject Expert Group, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and the Learning Disability Nursing National Shared Professional Decision-Making Council. Mr Gombedza has completed a Resilience-based Clinical Supervision program through the Foundation of Nursing Studies. He also serves as a NextGen Nurse learning disability ambassador for the NHS, through which he engages with secondary school and college students to inspire them to consider a career in learning disability nursing.
Ms Berry is the editor of Nursing Older People and the co-editor of Mental Health Practice. She has worked in healthcare publishing for many years and is a clinical editor specialising in nursing.
Lorraine Hicking-Woodison has worked in healthcare for over 20 years and is currently working in a dual role as an Assistant Practitioner at Hawkinge and Elham Valley Practice and Health Care Support Workers training lead at Invicta Health Learning in Kent. Lorraine is passionate about Nursing Support and is proud to be part of its workforce. She has been a champion in raising the profile and getting the nursing support voice heard since becoming an active member of the RCN in 2009. Lorraine is currently a member of the RCN South East Regional Board and RCNi editorial advisory board.
Ms Tomlins is a professional lead for learning and development at the RCN. Her career spans more than 30 years in nursing. She held various management roles including nurse manager for an out-of-hours nurse triage service before pursuing a career in education. She served as a board member for a local primary care trust and contributed as clinical adviser for a triage software package company. More recently, she worked as a practice trainer and senior lecturer/programme lead, contributing to the North West workforce development programme supporting assistant and advanced practice programmes.
Ms McIlgorm was appointed chief nursing officer for the Department of Health in Northern Ireland in March 2022. She has worked across a range of acute and community settings in health and social care in England and Scotland and has gained extensive leadership, management and strategic experience. As CNO, Ms McIlgorm leads the nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals’ contribution to the development and implementation of health and social care policy in NI. Her team provides advice on adult and children's acute services, mental health, elderly care, learning and physical disabilities, public health, community health, primary care, midwifery and international issues.
Professor Brown is professor of nursing and director of graduate studies in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University, Belfast. An educator and researcher, he has published more than 100 papers in the academic literature. He is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an RCN Fellow.
Professor Fontaine is chief nurse and director of infection prevention and control at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She is a professor of nursing at the University of East Anglia, profiling nursing and midwifery leadership and clinical academic advancement. Professor Fontaine is a human factors trainer and has vast experience in leading organisational quality improvement strategies, which include leadership in cultural transformation and creating stronger and more effective safety and governance programmes. She was appointed as one of the country’s first consultant nurses in emergency and urgent care and continues to lead the development of consultant / advanced clinical practitioners across all professions.
Dr Brimblecombe is professor of mental health at London South Bank University and consultant editor for the journal Mental Health Practice. A registered nurse, he has worked in NHS trust director of nursing, chief operating officer and non-executive director roles. He was formerly director of mental health nursing at the Department of Health, leading a national review of the profession in 2006. He completed his PhD on crisis/home treatment services. His research interests include the use of technology in in-patient settings, international approaches to mental health and new professional roles in mental health services.
Ms Boughton has held the title of consultant nurse for the past five years and has just celebrated her 20-year anniversary in primary care. Holding a postgraduate SPQ in general practice nursing and an MSc in advanced clinical practice, she is undertaking a PhD measuring self-efficacy in advanced practice. In 2021, Ms Boughton received the Queen’s Nurse title and subsequently secured the RCN Wales Nurse of the Year Award for advanced practice. As the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board Primary Care Academy lead for advanced and consultant level practice, she has a passion for workforce diversification and its transformative role in wider primary care strategy.
Ms Hayes has specialised in care for older people throughout her nursing career. She was consultant nurse for older people at King's College Hospital from 2001-2022 and was consultant editor of Nursing Older People journal until 2022. She practices as a specialist frailty practitioner and freelance adviser on nursing older people.
Ms Muflahi is a registered nurse with knowledge, skills and experience in paediatrics, community nursing, quality governance, project management and quality improvement. In 2008 she won a Mary Seacole Leadership Award. She has held board roles for multiple charities, including Kidney Care UK and Age UK, and is professional lead for nursing support workers at the RCN and an NHS non-executive director. She is passionate about delivering excellent care, supporting innovation and driving ethical leadership in a nursing and clinical context. Ms Muflahi has an MSc in healthcare management and policy from the University of Birmingham and is also a certified cultural intelligence assessor.
Mr Soriano, director of nursing and quality (Bay Network) at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, is an internationally educated nurse from the Philippines. He has worked in the NHS for the past 25 years and is a dual registered nurse (RGN/RMN). He is a mental health expert representative for the RCN, an active committee member of the Jabali (National Senior Male Nurses) Network, and a board member of the International Psychogeriatric Association. Mr Soriano is president of the Philippine Nurses Association UK and an advisory board member for the charity Filipino Unite.
Professor Ali holds a joint position at the University of Sheffield and Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She is a registered nurse, registered nurse teacher and senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a fellow of the Faculty of Public Health. Professor Ali leads MMedSci advanced nursing studies and is a deputy director of research and innovation in the Health Sciences School. In her role at the trust she aims to develop research capacity among nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.
Mr Jeb, associate chief nurse experience, engagement & safeguarding at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, qualified as a nurse in 1996 and worked in numerous posts in nursing, operational management, and a national role in NHS England. He has been involved in and led on numerous quality improvement initiatives throughout his career, and has gained several awards and accolades. In 2021 he was the Patient Experience Network NHS Patient Experience Manager of the Year. Mr Jebb is also a member of an NMC professional standards advisory panel, and has represented the Royal College of Nursing at local, regional, national and international levels.
Mr Labourne is a registered nurse with more than 37 years of experience. He provides professional advice to ministers, the Welsh Government and the NHS on primary and community care. His previous roles have been at deputy director of nursing and senior management level in the NHS in acute and community organisations. Mr Labourne has undertaken leadership studies at Harvard and visited integrated community services in the Netherlands to support his work. He provides the nursing voice for decarbonisation and climate change in the Welsh Government. He is the author of a number of papers including national guidance in Wales.
Ms Suleiman has worked for NHS Lothian for more than 20 years at the clinical front line, working her way up from staff nurse to senior nurse manager. She then moved into clinical education, leading on a five-year project – Leading Better Care Leading Across Difference. She is an active member of Unison, and sits on many national and regional groups, challenging inequality and ensuring the rights of healthcare staff are taken into account. Ms Suleiman won a Nelson Mandela Award in 2020 for her work in influencing the equality agenda for all.
Mr Cole, head of nursing for children and young people and professional lead for paediatric community services at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, is dual trained with more than 30 years’ acute and emergency paediatric experience. In 2022 he won the RCN Nursing Awards child health category in recognition of his innovation of introducing mental health well-being practitioners into a district general hospital. Mr Cole is passionate about ensuring all staff caring for children and their carers have the right skills and knowledge to deliver high-quality care and that the workforce reflects this in planning for the future.
Mr Sagoo is a children’s nurse and a PhD student at the University of Bedfordshire. In 2016, he set up British Sikh Nurses, a community organisation that addresses the health and well-being needs of the South Asian Community and supports the development of qualified nurses. His organisation has raised awareness of organ and stem cell donation, mental health, promoting healthy lifestyle choices, and supported the community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Sagoo won the RCN Nursing Awards 2021 nursing leadership category. He is also the 1514th Point of Light awarded by the prime minister in 2020.
Ms Gallagher provides strategic leadership and specialist professional advice to the Royal College, its members and key stakeholders across the UK on infection prevention and antimicrobial resistance and the implications for nurses and nursing. Her portfolio also includes sustainability, and she leads the college’s professional nursing activity on this, in particular the nursing contribution to environmental sustainability. She has successfully led the RCN Glove Awareness Week and Small Changes Big Differences campaign, focusing on procurement and use of consumables to influence sustainability in health and care delivery. She is a member of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change executive committee.
Ms May enjoyed national appointments with NHS Improvement and Monitor as well as regional and trust leadership roles before becoming the CNO for England in January 2019. As regional chief nurse for the Midlands and East, she championed the 'Stop the Pressure' campaign; nearly halving the number of pressure ulcers in the region, improving care for patients, and delivering cost savings to the NHS. She is passionate about nurturing the next generation of NHS nursing, midwifery and AHP leaders, encouraging professional development opportunities and putting in place the optimal cultural conditions for all NHS employees to thrive.
Ms Northway has worked in nurse education for many years and her current role encompasses teaching and research. Her key areas of interest include the health and well-being of people with learning disabilities, the role of the nurse in supporting people with learning disabilities, and the use of participatory research approaches. She is a fellow of the Royal College of Nursing and former chair of the RCN Research Society.
Ms Oshikanlu is an award-winning expert Queen’s nurse, midwife and health visitor with vast experience in delivering secondary and primary healthcare services in the statutory, voluntary and independent sectors. She is a nurse entrepreneur, author, speaker, mentor and coach. She is a Churchill Fellow, Fellow of the Institute of Health Visiting, Royal College of Nursing, the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Society for Public Health.
Mr Sathyan, from Kerala, India, has more than 20 years’ experience as a nurse. He has held roles including the director of advanced practice at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, North East and Yorkshire regional supervision and assessment lead and co-chair of the National ACP inclusivity group at Health Education England. He is committed to nurturing and growing talent, enhancing the well-being of the workforce and embedding excellence in practice with a personal commitment to research, transformation, innovation and improvement. Mr Sathyan is a national adviser to an international nursing and midwifery association.
Ms Wilson is a registered nurse for learning disabilities who has worked in a variety of clinical settings in primary and secondary care since qualifying in 1998. In 2014 she joined an acute team as a matron in a district and general hospital before taking a professional lead role with the RCN. She completed a master’s in advanced nursing studies, graduating in 2021; the content of her master’s focused on vulnerable patients, safeguarding and the Mental Capacity Act. Ms Wilson is passionately committed to the care of older people and seeks to continue to advocate for this patient group and improve quality of care delivery at all levels.
Mr Abdulla is a registered nurse (learning disabilities) with a clinical background in community nursing and complex physical health. He is programme leader for the pre-registration learning disability nursing programme and maintains strong links with practice networks across Scotland and the internationally. Mr Abdulla is a doctoral candidate at Edinburgh Napier University. He has conducted participatory research projects with people with learning disabilities on access to fitness centres and pedagogic research exploring the impact of trauma training on nursing students.
Ms Rogan is an assistant director of nursing for mental health and learning disability services in the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland. Named RCN Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year in 2017, Ms Rogan is a learning disability nurse and has undertaken post-graduate studies in behaviour analysis at the University of Kent’s Tizard Centre and at Ulster University. She is a non-medical prescriber and an associate consultant for the British Institute of Learning Disabilities, and is the Northern Ireland representative on the UK Learning Disability Professional Senate.
Sophie has worked as a journalist specialising in healthcare for more than 20 years. Sophie joined what is now RCNi in 2010, as assistant editor of its specialist nursing titles. She became editor of Nursing Management journal in 2020.
Sue Tranka was formerly the deputy chief nursing officer for patient safety and innovation at NHS England and improvement. She also held the role of director of infection prevention and control, leading the national team in its response to supporting guidance development, implementation and remobilisation of NHS services. Protecting staff and patients from nosocomial transmission of Covid has been a key focus of her work since the start of the pandemic. Ms Tranka was listed among the Health Service Journal’s 50 most influential people in health from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background in 2020, and in December 2021 was awarded a fellowship of the Queen’s Nursing Institute.
Mr Packiam is head of service at Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, responsible and accountable for the specialist nursing and allied health professional portfolio across the county. An internationally educated nurse from India, he is the equality, diversity and inclusion chair in his organization. Mr Packiam was the first nursing leader to be a global scholar with the Florence Nightingale Foundation UK. He co-founded the British Indian Nurses Association (BINA) and volunteers as general secretary aiming to inspire and support nurses to thrive in the UK healthcare system.
Ms Lagrata completed her nursing degree in the Philippines and moved to the UK in 1998. She works as an advanced nurse practitioner and headache lead nurse at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She was a topic-specific member on the NICE Guidelines for Headache (CG 150) in 2015. She has received numerous awards including a Quality in Care Award, a best scientific presentation award and the RCN Nursing Awards 2022 Innovation in your Specialty category. Ms Lagrata has presented at national and international conferences and has published numerous scientific papers. She is a board member of the International Forum for Headache Nurses.
Ms Strange worked for four years as a matron in nursing homes and is committed to improving the quality of life of older people. She is the project lead for Ffrind i Mi/Friend of Mine, a multi-agency approach to combatting loneliness and social isolation across communities. This initiative has led to a collective social movement across the board’s geographical area. Another well-being project is intergenerational befriending, bridging the gap between younger and older people. This project has resulted in the development and publication of an intergenerational strategy. Ms Strange has won several nursing and patient experience awards, including the Kate Granger Compassionate Care Award, the RCN Wales Innovation Award, a Chief Nursing Officer Award and a lifetime achievement award.
RCN fellow, Ms Nzirawa is passionate about improving patient care and making all services as safe as possible without compromising quality. Her work has led to innovation and service change. She leads various programmes in the East of England, including to reduce health inequalities in maternity and neonatal services and equality for all staff especially ethnic minorities and vulnerable communities.
Ms Olaniyan is a registered learning disability nurse with a special interest in epilepsy. She has an undergraduate degree in learning disability nursing from the University of Southampton and a master's degree in epilepsy from King's College London. She is the LeDeR programme lead and local area contact for NHS South East London Integrated Care Board. Ms Olaniyan is chair of Medical Assistance Sierra Leone (MASL) and the founder of the international training organisation Pretola Global Health and Consulting. She is involved in national projects and international research in several countries and enjoys collaborating with others.
Ms Budding qualified as an RGN in 1994 and as a registered sick children’s nurse in 1996. She has specialised in neonatal intensive care for almost 30 years. Ms Budding now works in gynaecology as a clinical nurse specialist in pregnancy advice. Ms Budding joined the RCN as a nursing student and became an accredited steward in 2001. She went on to become the RCN local lead steward and RCN learning and safety representative. She was also previously elected as the West Midlands UK steward and safety representative on the RCN National Committee and as the West Midlands regional board chair and vice chair. Ms Budding was appointed RCN deputy president in 2021.
Ms Olayiwola is a registered nurse and practising midwife with more than two decades of clinical practice and leadership in the community and public health. She is passionate about supporting and empowering nurses and midwives to provide culturally sensitive and holistic care for women and their families. She has held various senior operational and specialist positions and project management roles in maternity. She was appointed as the national maternity lead for equality with NHS England in February 2021. Ms Olayiwola was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to the NHS and equality in the New Year Honours List 2021.
Ms Manson is a passionate advocate of care home nursing and excellence in dementia care. She has spent her whole career in care homes, winning a range of awards for leadership and innovation in dementia care. She completed an MSc in dementia studies and is undertaking a PhD exploring partnership working in practice in care homes. She believes in hearing everyone’s voice and understanding the uniqueness of people.
Ms qualified as a mental health nurse at the University of East Anglia in 2003 before completing a master's degree in mental health in 2013. More recently, Ms Aldridge completed doctoral studies at De Montfort University. She holds a portfolio of roles including, consultant editor for Nursing Older People, clinical adviser for older people’s services at One Norwich Practices, regional clinical adviser (dementia) NHSE&I, dementia nurse consultant Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, and honorary visiting researcher at Newcastle University and the University of Bradford.
Ms Packman is deputy director of nursing service transformation & resilience at NHS England. She has held various roles in the NHSI nursing directorate and has been responsible for nursing talent management and leadership, policy link to the regulators, service improvement, shared governance, EU exit nursing lead. From March 2020-March 2022 she supported the NHS COVID response by establishing and leading the COVID clinical cell team. Ms Packman has worked in several acute and community trusts in the UK and abroad. She is an Honorary Senior Clinical Fellow at Kingston University and St George’s University of London.
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