Senior nurses take on new NHS Improvement roles

Two senior nurses have been appointed to new positions at NHS Improvement, where they will work as deputies to executive director of nursing Ruth May.

NHS Trust Development Authority deputy director Jacqueline McKenna will become the director of nursing for professional leadership, while the new director of nursing for improvement will be Mark Radford, previously chief nursing officer at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.

Improving services

Dr May described the pair as ‘extremely talented’ and said she had ‘every confidence that they will help us support the improvement of services, not only for nurses and midwives across England, but for patients’.

‘I look forward to working with them and bringing together the values and ambitions of our regional nurses, provider directors of nursing and partners, to strengthen our voice for the nursing profession,’ she said.

In her new role, Ms McKenna will provide leadership of improvement programmes, including end of life care, patient experience and infection prevention and control.

Professor Radford will work alongside directors of nursing to ensure they have the capacity and capability to improve the way services are delivered.