Midwife Donna Ockenden appointed senior adviser to the nurse regulator

The Nursing and Midwifery Council has appointed Donna Ockenden as a senior midwifery adviser to its chief executive Jackie Smith.

Ms Ockenden will also continue in her current role as the co-clinical director of the maternity strategic clinical network at NHS England.

She has been a member of the Royal College of Midwives board and has been head of midwifery for a number of NHS trusts.

The announcement follows the appointment of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust chief nurse Eileen Sills as the NMC's senior nursing adviser. 

Ms Ockenden said: 'I look forward to bringing my experience to the role and to working closely with Jackie Smith.'

Ms Smith said: 'Nurses and midwives like Donna have a massive role to play in the future of regulation and she brings with her important experience in maternity services and midwifery.'