Times has compiled a list of 75 nurses and midwives who have contributed in a significant way to the service or are rising stars.
We will be publishing the names of those on our list in alphabetical order in groups of 15 each day over the next few days, so be sure to look out for announcements on social media or in your daily newsletter.
We know we can never fully pay tribute to all those that have made an impact on the NHS since 1948 and continue to do so each day in every setting and specialty.
However, we hope our list can go some way to representing the great work and contribution of the nursing and midwifery professions in our NHS.
1. Dame Elizabeth Anionwu
Emeritus professor of nursing at the University of West London and recipient of the Chief Nursing Officers’ Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2016 Nursing Times Awards – she became the UK’s first sickle-cell and thalassemia nurse specialist in 1979.
2. David Atkinson
Independent consultant nurse – passionate about supporting people with learning disabilities, he has contributed to many national service and policy developments across the UK. He led the development of national learning disability improvement standards for NHS trusts, which were subsequently embedded in the NHS Long Term Plan.
3. Dianne Backhouse
Hepatology specialist nurse at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and 2021 Nursing Times Nurse of the Year – innovative and patient-focused work establishing a new hepatology specialist nursing service in East Yorkshire.
4. Dr Phil Barker
Honorary professor, University of Dundee – Mental health nurse and psychotherapist who developed the Tidal Model, which encourages nurses to explore people’s stories as a way of helping to reclaim mental health. It is now used internationally.
5. Carys Barton
Heart failure nurse consultant, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and deputy chair of the British Society for Heart Failure – instrumental in developing a new heart failure service in Lambeth and Southwark. One of the UK’s few heart failure nurse consultants.
6. Professor Carol Baxter
Diversity and inclusion and human rights consultant – with a background in health visiting and nurse education, she was head of equality, diversity and human rights at NHS Employers for almost a decade. There, she ensured that equality and diversity were integrated and embedded into its work and led on its programmes to help NHS organisations to achieve the same.
7. Avey Bhatia
Chief nurse, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – one of the first Asian chief nurses of a hospital trust in the UK, she qualified in 1991 before moving into management. In 2014, she became chief nurse at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust in 2013, before moving to St George’s University Hospital Foundation Trust in 2017 and then Guy’s and St Thomas’ in 2020.
8. Anne Biggs
Matron and children’s allergy clinical nurse specialist, North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and 2022 Nursing Times Nurse of the Year – successfully fought for the establishment of a children’s allergy service at her trust and became its first children’s allergy clinical nurse specialist.
9. Karen Bonner
Chief nurse and director for infection prevention and control, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust – she is an influential voice in promoting equality diversity and inclusion. Until recently, she was member of the Workforce Race Equality Standard strategic advisory group and is also a graduate of the NHS Leadership Academy Nye Bevan programme for aspiring directors.
10. Dr Ben Bowers
Wellcome post-doctoral research fellow, University of Cambridge – clinical academic community nurse, specialising in palliative and end-of-life care. Practices clinically as an honorary nurse consultant in palliative care at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
11. Len Bowers
Emeritus professor of psychiatric nursing at King’s College London – a former psychiatric nurse with clinical and managerial experience in acute inpatient and community care, he contributed significantly to research, theory and safety. He developed the world-famous Safewards approach which looks at factors influencing rates of conflict and containment on acute mental health wards.
12. Geoff Brennan
Safewards clinical supervisor, King’s College London – originally from Northern Ireland, he first trained as a learning disabilities nurse and then as a mental health nurse. He has been on and around mental health wards for over 35 years. A champion of making wards safe, he helped create and drive forward initiatives like Safewards and Star Wards.
13. Debbie Brown
Director of general practice nursing, South East London Training Hub – raised the profile and importance of GPNs as a nurse consultant and active member of primary care nursing forums. She has delivered an annual conference and hosted a range of policy influencers and policy makers over many years. Formerly clinical director at Lewisham Clinical Commissioning Group.
14. Professor Patrick Callaghan
Mental health nurse and associate pro vice-chancellor for research, London South Bank University – He specialises in psychosocial interventions for mental health and wellbeing. First and foremost a mental health nurse, his research and books continue to impact on the world of mental health nursing.
15. Dr Peter Carter
Independent healthcare consultant – psychiatric nurse and general nurse best known for his tenure as Royal College of Nursing general secretary. Prior to that he spent nearly 12 years as chief executive of the Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust and has latterly held interim roles as chair at three trusts. Makes regular media appearances to speak out on behalf of nursing.
16. Dame Hilary Chapman
Independent professional consultant – formerly chief nurse at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She co-led the development of the Safer Nursing Care Tool, which is now used widely in hospitals across the UK. She is also an honorary professor at Sheffield Hallam University and the first woman to be appointed lord-lieutenant of South Yorkshire.
17. Rebecca Chester
Consultant nurse for learning disabilities, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – a motivated and dedicated nurse who is driving up good practice locally and nationally. She has both clinical and academic roots and is involved in lots of inspirational projects.
18. Dame Jessica Corner
Dame Jessica Corner, executive chair, Research England – a leading expert on cancer and palliative care, she was the first nurse to be chair of the Institute of Cancer Research. Her academic work pioneered nurse-led cancer care. She is also a former chair of the Council of Deans of Health.
19. Dame Sarah Cowley
Emeritus professor, King’s College London – her nursing career started in 1964, but has focused on health visiting since 1980. A world expert on health visiting, her research about the distribution of services in relation to deprivation has been widely used for workforce planning.
20. Rebecca Crossley
Senior clinical lead children and young people with mental health, learning disabilities and autism, NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board – has been at the forefront in acute liaison nursing and was the first learning disability nurse to develop an effective vaccination strategy during the Covid-19 pandemic.
21. Rebecca Daniels
Community children’s matron, East London NHS Foundation Trust – transforming the profile and education of community children’s nurses and created a network for them at the height of the pandemic. Project lead with the Queen’s Nursing Institute.
22. Jacqueline Denyer
Epidermolysis bullosa nurse consultant, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust – recognised as an expert in the management of epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic disorder that causes extremely fragile skin and recurrent blisters.
23. Helené Donnelly
Head of safety culture, Nuffield Health – raised concerns at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and was a key witness to the Francis inquiries. Pioneered the role of ambassador for cultural change and the concept of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians.
24. Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent
Chief midwife, International Confederation of Midwives – appointed as England’s first chief midwifery officer in March 2019 and, from May this year, became the first chief midwife at the ICM.
25. Professor Judith Ellis
Honorary professor of nursing, London South Bank University – still a registered adult and children’s nurse, she was the first nurse to become chief executive of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. She has held many senior posts in clinical practice and leadership, including eight years as director of nursing and workforce at Great Ormond Street.
26. Professor Mandy Fader
Associate vice-president for strategic major projects, University of Southampton – a nurse who is leading research on continence technology. She works with patients, microbiologists, engineers and designers to understand the limitations of products, analyse the needs of users and create new ways of managing incontinence.
27. Christine Fehrenbach
Respiratory nurse specialist, Oaks Healthcare – founder of the Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialists, she has worked in primary care and hospital settings, as well as holding a number of nurse advisory roles with charities and professional bodies.
28. Catherine Gamble
Mental health nurse consultant – former RCN professional lead for mental health nursing and head of nurse education at South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust. She set up the RCN’s first mental health degree nursing programme and played a leading role in founding the Thorn Initiative, an educational programme focused on community psychiatric nurses.
29. Professor Bob Gates
University of West London – a leading light in disabilities nursing research and education, he inspired a generation of students across the UK and beyond. He has published extensively and, among other things, established the Centre for Learning Disability Studies at the University of Hertfordshire and was director of the East Yorkshire Learning Disability Institute.
30. Professor Kevin Gournay
Emeritus professor, King’s College London – A nurse by background, he has been a pioneer in mental health care, responsible for a wide range of research, policy and practice development. He set up and ran the UK’s first multi-disciplinary Masters programme for mental health professionals on interventions for serious mental illness. President of the charity No Panic.
31. Dr Barrie Green
Independent nurse consultant – became a mental health nurse while a teenager, he has a particular interest in forensic mental health and learning disability, crime and mental disorders. He was a key figure in the formation of the Association of Nurse Consultants, which had success in giving mental health nurses a voice at national level during the early 2000s.
32. Louie Horne
Deputy associate director of nursing, East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust – originally from the Philippines, she is a champion of equality, diversity and inclusion and is currently on secondment at NHS England as a Workforce Race Equality Standard clinical research fellow. Carried the Nightingale lamp at this year’s commemoration service in St Paul’s Cathedral.
33. Professor Elizabeth Hughes
A mental health nurse by background who has worked in acute inpatient mental health settings and drug and alcohol treatment services. She held one of the first dual diagnosis specialist posts in the UK and is credited with putting dignity into mental health care when she challenged period poverty and the lack of sanitary products across mental health wards.
34. Christine Hutchinson
Consultant nurse in learning disability and associate director of nursing, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust – a strong leader who is involved in improving standards, in particular in relation to mental health, learning disabilities and autism. She is currently engaged in development of the approved clinician and nurse prescribing role.
35. Nola Ishmael
Originally from Barbados, she became the first black and minority ethnic director of nursing in London in 1990, before working as a nursing officer on NHS policy in the Department of Health from 1995 to 2003. Now retired after a 40-year career, her portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
36. Neilma Keefe
Senior sister, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust – beginning her career in 1957 as a nursing cadet, she qualified as a nurse in 1962 and has now spent more than 65 years working in the NHS. With a passion for wound care, she works at a specialist burns and plastics unit and spoke to Nursing Times about her career for our jubilee special issue in June last year.
37. Phillip Kelly
Neuromuscular specialist nurse, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust – key member of a multidisciplinary team that has created a ground-breaking treatment service model at Salford Royal Infirmary that is improving care for patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
38. Felicia Kwaku
Associate director of nursing, King’s College Foundation Trust – advocated for Black, Asian and minority ethnic nurses when it became clear these groups were being disproportionately affected by Covid-19. She is chair of the Chief Nursing Officer’s Black and Minority Ethnic Strategic Advisory Group at NHS England.
39. Ariel Lanada
President, Filipino Nurses Association UK (FNA-UK) – With a career spanning nearly 30 years, he relocated to the UK in 2002. Currently divisional lead for practice development and education at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
40. Helen Laverty
Professional lead for learning disability nursing, University of Nottingham – qualifying as a learning disability nurse in 1982, she moved into education in 1987. She developed the Positive Choices Network, which is the biggest community of practice for any field of student learning disability nurses in the country.
41. Paulette Lewis
President, Caribbean Nurses and Midwives Association UK – first migrating to the UK in 1977 to train as a nurse, she went on to accumulate over 30 years of healthcare experience. She has worked in many different NHS leadership roles, including as a director of midwifery and children services and as executive director of nursing.
42. Alex Mancini
National lead nurse for neonatal palliative care, Chelsea & Westminster NHS Foundation Trust – has made a significant difference for parents, families and neonatal staff affected by bereavement. Lead editor of Neonatal Palliative Care for Nurses, the first textbook on the subject.
43. Professor Hugh McKenna
Professor of nursing, Ulster University – He spent 16 years in general and psychiatric practice and was chief nurse for the Southern Health and Social Services Board, before moving into research on patient quality and safety, and the healthcare workforce. He was a founding member of The Lancet Commission on Nursing and is a trustee of the Alzheimer’s Society.
44. Róisín McKeon-Carter
Neonatal nurse consultant, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust – helped develop a national framework for neonatal transitional care services to prevent the separation of mother and baby at birth. Current chair of the Neonatal Nurses Association.
45. Christine Moffatt
Emeritus professor at Nottingham University and former nurse consultant – transformed leg-ulcer management and the lives of countless patients through 30 years of nursing research, practice and education, making specialist wound care in the UK the best in the world.
46. Debra Moore
Consultant nurse and independent advisor – a highly experienced leader in the field of learning disability nursing, she was one of the first consultant nurses working within the National High Secure Service for Learning Disabilities (Rampton). She has also been an advisor to the Department of Health and a member of the Ministerial Task Force for Learning Disabilities.
47. Dame Yvonne Moores
Now retired, she is the only person to have been chief nursing officer of three different countries in the UK – Wales, Scotland and England. During her tenure, she secured ministerial commitments for the first ever quality framework for the NHS and the introduction of nurse prescribing.
48. Gwen Moulster
Independent consultant nurse – one of the four consultant nurses responsible for the development of the national Health Equalities Framework for services for people with learning disabilities, in the wake of Winterbourne View, and co-created the Moulster & Griffiths model for learning disability nursing.
49. Diane Murray
Former deputy chief nurse and associate chief nurse for Scotland. She had a significant impact on reducing hospital mortality rates and led work to enshrine safe staffing levels in law. Also led efforts to support social care in Scotland during the pandemic. Recipient of the Chief Nursing Officers’ Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Nursing Times Awards.
50. Dr Joan Myers
Independent consultant – she has over 35 years’ experience as a nurse leader, consultant and educator in community children’s nursing services across London. She has worked as an influential advisor at a national level, including five years as chair of the chief nursing officer for England’s BME Strategic Advisory Group, which provides strategic advice to support equity issues.
51. Benash Nazmeen
Assistant professor in midwifery, University of Bradford – a midwife who has dedicated her career to addressing health inequalities in maternity services and committed herself to improving services for women and colleagues. She is also director and co-founder of the Association of South Asian Midwives and a trustee for the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust.
52. Pippa Nightingale
Chief executive, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust – having joined the NHS in 1994 as a maternity support worker, she became a midwife, a consultant midwife, director of midwifery and then chief nurse at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, before being appointed to her current role leading a trust in 2021.
53. Professor Peter Nolan
Former psychiatric nurse and nursing historian – he spent more than 50 years working in mental health services in the UK and abroad. He is credited with writing the definitive history of mental health nursing.
54. Professor Ruth Northway
Highly respected learning disability nursing leader and academic who retired earlier this year after a career spanning four decades. She was the UK’s first professor of learning disability nursing, while at the University of South Wales, and received the Chief Nursing Officers’ Lifetime Achievement Award at the Nursing Times Awards in 2018.
55. Crystal Oldman
Chief executive, Queen’s Nursing Institute – highly-respected leader of the organisation that awards Queen’s Nurse status. She worked in the NHS for 18 years, the majority of which was in the field of community nursing, working with some of the most deprived communities in west London, before spending a similar period in education.
56. May Parsons
Associate chief nurse, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust – Filipino-British nurse who was chosen to deliver the first Covid-19 vaccination in the world outside of clinical trials on 8 December 2020 while working as a modern matron for respiratory services at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Trust.
57. Nicki Patterson
Former deputy chief executive and executive director of nursing, midwifery and allied health professions, South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust – recently retired, she had a passion for providing the highest quality of care for patients. Starting as a staff nurse in Belfast in 1987, primary care and older peoples’ services have been reshaped across Northern Ireland under her leadership.
58. Shirla Philogène
Author and retired nurse – she moved to Essex from St Vincent and the Grenadines in 1959, aged 18, to train as a nurse. Her book – Between Two Worlds – was published in 2008 and launched by the Royal College of Nursing, as part of the 60th anniversary of the NHS. It describes her experience as a nurse from the Windrush generation, including the prejudice she faced.
59. Hazel Powell
Deputy executive director of nursing, Swansea Bay University Health Board – a nurse who has worked with children, adults and older people. As a leader, she has promoted learning disability nursing at national levels, notably through senior advisory roles to the Scottish and Welsh governments.
60. David Pugh
Assistant locality manager for South Gloucestershire, Sirona Health and Care – transforming the way district nursing practice and education is viewed and supported nationally. Former chair of the National District Nursing Network and recipient of the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Award for Outstanding Service by the Queen’s Nursing Institute.
61. Malcolm Rae
Independent health care advisor – former nursing officer for mental health and forensic psychiatry at the Department of Health and before that executive director of nursing for mental health services of Salford NHS Trust. He was the first recipient of a fellowship from the National Association for Psychiatric Intensive Care Units. Co-founder of charity State of Mind Sport.
62. Sheila Ramdial
Gynaecology clinical nurse specialist, Barts Health NHS Trust – in April this year she celebrated 50 years working in the NHS. Having arrived from the Caribbean at the age of 17, she started training the day after her 18th birthday. She won the Welcoming award at the 2023 Barts Health Heroes.
63. Professor Jacqui Reilly
Director of nursing at National Services Scotland and professor of infection prevention and control at Glasgow Caledonian University – an eminent voice for the nursing profession on epidemiology, infection prevention and control, research and nurse leadership. She started her career in clinical practice in 1988 and became a professor in 2010.
64. Rohit Sagoo
Founder and director of British Sikh Nurses – he became a nurse lecturer at the University of West London after 20 years in children’s nursing. He spent lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic dedicating his time translating NHS materials for non-English speakers and dispelling vaccination myths for south Asian families.
65. Kendra Schneller
Nurse practitioner, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – leading work on homeless and inclusion health services in one of the most challenging areas of London and transformed the way in which nurse led services are delivered.
66. Jane Scullion
Independent respiratory consultant nurse – now with over 30 years’ experience, she was the UK’s first nurse consultant for respiratory care. While at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, she developed and led regional NHS services in the East Midlands for interstitial lung disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
67. Professor Laura Serrant
Regional head of nursing for North East and Yorkshire and professor of nursing at Manchester Metropolitan University – a specialist in sexual and reproductive health, she has worked with sex workers, alcohol and drug dependent individuals and tackling attitudes towards HIV. Former chair of the BME Strategic Advisory Group for NHS England.
68. Sam Sherrington
National deputy director community nursing, NHS England – a qualified district nurse she joined the chief nursing officer for England’s team as the first NHS head of community nursing in 2020. She was previously head of the Year of the Nurse and Midwife and head of the Insulin Administration Programme, both at NHS England and NHS Improvement.
69. Dr Barbara Stillwell
Consultant on global research – formerly executive director of Nursing Now, she was instrumental in establishing the role of nurse practitioner in the UK and introduced the first UK-based nurse practitioner programme in 1991. In 2008, Nursing Times names her one of the most influential nurses of the past 40 years.
70. Edmund Tabay
Hospital director of nursing, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust – became the first Filipino nurse to hold a top nursing directorship role in the health service in September 2021. Formerly deputy chief nurse at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust.
71. Professor Ben Thomas
Professor of mental health nursing, London South Bank University – a mental health nurse with 30 years’ experience in clinical, managerial, academic and policy roles. For eight years, he was the mental health nursing adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care. Always an advocate for mental health nursing, he was born in the same year that the NHS was formed.
72. Baroness Mary Watkins
Crossbench peer, House of Lords – qualifying as a general nurse in 1976 and a mental health nurse in 1979, she worked in community, inpatient mental health and acute settings. She went on to hold numerous leadership posts across education, governance and policy, and is an international expert in nursing and healthcare delivery.
73. Lesley Watts
Chief executive, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – a nurse and midwife by training, she has extensive executive managerial experience, including in commissioning, and was previously chief executive of East and North Hertfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group and more recently the North West London Integrated Care System.
74. Louise Weaver-Lowe
Neonatal nurse lead at NHS England and director of the North West Neonatal Operational Delivery Network – first person to hold the national neonatal role and is helping deliver three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services. Formerly director of nursing at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
75. Professor Jean White
Atheatre nurse by background, she was chief nursing officer for Wales for a decade, stepping down in 2021. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in delivering the Nurse Staffing Levels (Wales) Act 2016, which saw Wales become the first country in Europe to introduce safe staffing levels. Currently high sheriff of mid Glamorgan.
Important thank yous
With thanks to our sponsors: Burdett Trust for Nursing, Chiesa, Ramsay Health Care, Bangor University, University of East London and Birmingham City University.
With thanks to the following for their advice on the Nursing Times NHS 75 impact list: the Queen’s Nursing Institute, Association Continence Advice, Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialists, Neonatal Nurses Association, Thomas Currid, Jim Blair, Gwen Moulster, Helen Laverty, Chris Hart, and Fran Davies.
And that’s not all!
You can find out tomorrow who the next group of nurses and midwives are on our NHS 75 impact list.
You can also read more of our coverage on the NHS 75th anniversary by visiting our dedicated web page. There you will find news, features, videos, opinions, reflections and much more.
In addition, be sure to look out for the next print issue of Nursing Times, which is a special edition on the 75th anniversary of the NHS.