Officers of the Foundation
The Officers and Trustees, along with the team, represent the Florence Nightingale Foundation and work together in a charitable context to develop and advance the practice of nursing and midwifery for the benefit of all those who need healthcare.
Royal Patron
HRH Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy KG GCVO
Patron
Sir Robert Francis QC
President
The Baroness Mary Watkins of Tavistock
President
The Baroness Mary Watkins of Tavistock
Mary Watkins, Baroness Watkins of Tavistock sits as a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords and is Visiting Professor in the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care, King’s College London; President of the Florence Nightingale Foundation and is a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Plymouth University. She is currently alternate chair of Nursing Now, a global initiative to raise the profile of nursing, and in this role was co-chair of the World Health Organisation’s review of the State of the World Nursing which reported in 2020.
Qualifying as a general nurse in 1976 and a mental health nurse in 1979, Professor Watkins worked in community, in-patient mental health and acute settings, providing non-emergency and emergency healthcare.
Made a Nightingale Scholar in 1985, Professor Watkins was appointed Dean of the then Faculty of Health and Social Work at Plymouth in 2003, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Health) in 2005 and Deputy Vice-Chancellor in 2007.
Professor Watkins has a particular interest in governance having been a Secretary of State nominee to the UKCC for Nursing and Midwifery (1996-2001) and was a member of the UKCC Education Commission – the Peach Review, 1999. She has held a variety of charitable trustee roles including Dementia Care (Bristol), Cornwall Care and the Burdett Trust for Nursing.
She was a member of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NIHCE) Appraisal Panel (2001-2007). In addition, she was a board member of the South Western Ambulance Trust for a 6-year term including a period as the Senior Independent Director (2011-2017).
Professor Watkins has an interest in housing – a key determinant of health and is currently Non-executive director at Southern Housing and was previously a non-executive board member of Aster Housing.
Previous appointments in the educational domain include chairing Acorn Academy Cornwall (2013-2015) and Marine Academy Plymouth (2011-2014).
In the House of Lords, Professor Watkins contributes regularly in the domains of health, education and housing and sits on the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, and has recently been appointed Deputy Speaker.
Her academic qualifications include a Master’s in Nursing (distinction), University of Wales and a Doctor of Philosophy (Science), King’s College London. As a life-long learner she has taken the opportunity to develop her management and leadership skills. Professor Watkins attended the Civil Service Top Management programme (2005) and the High Potential Leadership programme at Harvard Business School (2010).
Professor Watkins is an international expert in nursing and healthcare delivery.
Vice President
Avey Bhatia, Chief Nurse Guy’s & St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Vice President
Avey Bhatia, Chief Nurse Guy’s & St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
Avey Bhatia qualified in 1991, having trained at Maidstone Hospital in Kent. She has held various staff nurse and sister posts at hospitals in London including St George’s, where she moved into management, eventually becoming a divisional director of nursing. In 2011 she was appointed deputy chief nurse at South London Healthcare Trust and became chief nurse at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust in 2013. She started as Chief Nurse and Director of Infection Prevention and Control at St Georges University Hospital Foundation Trust in February 2017. Since February this year she has been carrying out the role of Chief Operating Officer, helping to lead the Trust’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Avey Bhatia joined as Chief Nurse & Vice President of the Florence Nightingale Foundation at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, in November 2020. She is returning to the Trust having trained as a critical care nurse at St Thomas’ in the early part of her career. Her clinical experience includes theatres, general intensive care, coronary care and cardiothoracic nursing. Avey holds a post graduate diploma in Health Services Management and a Master’s in Public Administration.
Chair
Dame Yvonne Moores
Chair
Dame Yvonne Moores
Dame Yvonne Moores qualified as a nurse and midwife in Southampton prior to ward sister appointments in Winchester and London. Whilst in Winchester, she attended a King’s Fund nurse leadership programme which impacted on her expectations and subsequent career. She held nurse leadership positions in London and Manchester before her appointment as Chief Nursing Officer for Wales. After six years in the Principality, she moved to Scotland to take up the corresponding position north of the border. In both positions, her focus and that of her team was on increasing the influence of nurses and the development of clinical practice through nurse strategies agreed with both Governments. Her move back to England coincided with the Chief Nursing Officer post and that of the Director of Nursing for the NHS falling vacant and she was appointed to both posts, the former being based in London and the latter in Leeds. She also held the added brief for Quality in the NHS. As Chief Nursing Officer, she kept in touch with clinical developments through her Practice Advisory Group which comprised nurses drawn from a variety of clinical settings. She also continued her practice of working as a staff nurse for a week each year in a hospital or community setting. Much was achieved for nursing and midwifery during her seven year tenure at the Department of Health but she also secured ministerial commitment to the first ever Quality Framework for the NHS. The resultant First Class Service white paper led directly to the introduction of Clinical Governance, NICE and the Commission for Health Improvement subsequently renamed as the Care Quality Commission. With strong ministerial backing she was able to extend the role of nurses including Nurse Prescribing and the creation of NHS Direct. Upon her retirement, Yvonne was appointed as Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Council of the University of Southampton. During her six year term of office, she held the position of Deputy Chair of the Committee of University Chairs and was also a member of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education which was tasked with ensuring the future leadership capacity in Higher Education. She subsequently served as a Pro-Chancellor at Bournemouth University for eight years. Honorary degrees were conferred on her by Southampton, Bournemouth, Bradford, Huddersfield, Central England, Portsmouth, Northumbria and De Montfort Universities along with honorary fellowships from the University of Wales College of Medicine, the Queen’s Nursing Institute and the Faculty of Public Health. She is a Companion of the Institute of Management. Appointed in 2004 as the first female Non-Executive Director of the National House Building Council, Yvonne eventually went on the serve for eleven years as Chair of the Trustees of the Company’s Pension Fund. Dame Yvonne has a longstanding commitment to Global Health. Whilst chair of WHO’s Global Advisory Group on Nursing in Geneva, she helped ensure that strong nursing resolutions were passed by the World Health Assembly. From 2004 to 2014, she was a Non-Executive Director and eventually Vice Chair of Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and was in a position to assist in the creation of the Poole Africa Link which fosters health care and education initiatives in South Sudan and Uganda. Since its inception in 2001, Dame Yvonne has travelled to Thailand each year in her capacity as an international advisor to the Princess Srinagarindra Foundation which selects the “World Nurse of the Year”. She is currently the Chair of the Interim Steering Committee of the Wessex Global Health Network which aims to assist academics and NHS professionals in the region to impact maximally on the health of the world’s population. In 2017 she was the sixth recipient in 25 years of Sigma Theta Tau’s International lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her “extraordinary contribution to the health and wellbeing of world citizens”.
Trustee & Legal Director
Andrew Andrews MBE MA
Trustee & Legal Director
Andrew Andrews MBE MA
Mr Andrews is a lawyer by profession and a respected legal advisor, whose practice is and has been in the public service (predominantly in health). Andrew is an established and recognised medico-legal trainer. His present responsibilities comprise: Director Health and Social Care at Bond Solon and Subject Matter Expert, Medico-Legal Advisor for St John Ambulance, Visiting Lecturer Royal College of Psychiatrists, and Vice Chairman Trustee Florence Nightingale Foundation. Andrew has a wide knowledge of the Health Service and is well known as an expert in health care issues. As a result, he is in considerable demand as a specialist lecturer and speaker to groups locally and at national and international events. He is increasingly called upon to serve and chair Inquiries both at a local and national level into all aspects of health care.
Trustee
Dame Professor Jill Macleod Clark DBE, PHD, BSC, SRN, FRCN, FQNI
Trustee
Dame Professor Jill Macleod Clark DBE, PHD, BSC, SRN, FRCN, FQNI
Dame Jill qualified as a registered nurse at University College Hospital, London and worked in a range of acute clinical settings and as a practice nurse. She gained a degree in social psychology from the London School of Economics and subsequently completed her doctorate, which focussed on an analysis of communication between patients and nurses on surgical wards. Jill began her academic career as a clinical lecturer at Chelsea College London, teaching communication skills, health promotion and research methods whilst supporting undergraduate students in their practice placements. She headed up the first research based MSc programme for nursing in the UK and continued to develop her research profile, building up a research team and publishing widely. Over the years, Jill has held a number of academic leadership posts in the UK, acting as Director of the Nightingale Institute, Kings College London and, more recently, Dean of Health Sciences at the University of Southampton. In Southampton she spearheaded a major inter-professional learning initiative for students across nine health care disciplines and developed a new clinical academic career pathway for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. Jill has also undertaken key national professional policy and advisory roles, including being Chair of the UK Council of Deans for Health, Chair of the NIHR clinical academic awards panel and a member of the last two Research Excellence Framework Panels for Nursing and Allied Health Professions. She holds several honorary professorial positions in nursing faculties around the world Jill is now Emeritus Professor at Southampton and is lead advisor to the Nursing and Midwifery Council for their major review of education standards for future registered nurses. She continues to contribute to national and international policy agendas linked to the development of clinical academic and research careers in nursing and building leadership capacity in higher education and health for under- represented groups. She is a member of ‘Women on Boards’ and is actively engaged in coaching and mentoring nurses aspiring to executive or strategic leadership roles. Jill is married to William, has two sons and five grandchildren and is a keen sailor.
Trustee
Dr Joan Myers OBE
Trustee
Dr Joan Myers OBE
Joan has over 30 years’ experience as a children’s nurse and nurse consultant mainly working in community settings across London developing children’s service
Joan is an Associate Director for Health Services and Chief Nurse at Achieving for Children where she is the strategic lead for integrated services for children with disabilities. Joan received a Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother outstanding services award for community nursing in 2012. As well as being voted one of the top 50 most Inspirational Leaders in the NHS and top 50 BME pioneer by Health Service Journal in 2013 she was also honoured with a an OBE for services to children and nursing in the Queen’s Birthday honours list in 2013. Joan was the Chair of the Chief Nursing Officer for England’s Black and Minority Ethnic Strategic Advisory Group from June 2012 – March 2016. Joan became a Queen’s Nurse in 2015 and a Florence Nightingale Leadership Scholar in 2017. Joan received a Zenith Global Health Award in 2018 for medical mission work in Ghana, Uganda and Kenya
In July 2014, Joan was chosen from over 2000 nominations to have her garden made over on TV on the “Love your Garden” programme by Alan Titchmarsh in recognition of the charity work she does. Joan has a children’s charity in Kenya providing school sponsorship to 25 orphans and vulnerable children. Joan also an honorary doctorate from Middlesex University.
Trustee
Professor Aisha Holloway
Trustee
Professor Aisha Holloway
Professor Aisha Holloway is Head of Nursing at The University of Edinburgh, Co-Director of the Edinburgh Global Nursing Initiative, Research and Evidence Programme Lead for the Nursing Now global campaign and Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in the USA. She is a Florence Nightingale alumna and used her scholarship to complete a leadership programme at Harvard Business School and visit Congress in Washington DC, working with Nurse leaders in the USA to explore the development of political and strategic leadership within nursing to influence health policy.
Aisha has grown a successful programme of research focusing on global public health, alcohol related harm and the nursing workforce, with a strong professional health policy and political nurse leadership focus. The main aims of the programmes are to develop health and workforce capacity in LMICs, reduce the risks and harms of alcohol in society, and influencing and shaping alcohol policy alongside the development of an evidence base focused on political nurse leadership.
Aisha was previously an Hon Nurse Consultant for Alcohol Policy and Research for the Scottish Government, has submitted written evidence on political leadership in nursing to the All Party Parliamentary Group (UK APPG) on global health, and has been invited to submit written and oral evidence to the Scottish Health & Sports Committee and Scottish Parliament as part of the Prisoner Health Inquiry at the round table evidence session at Scottish Parliament.
Trustee
Rhiannon Beaumont-Wood
Trustee
Rhiannon Beaumont-Wood
Rhiannon has over 30 years’ experience working in the NHS in Wales and England, starting her nurse training in London in 1981, having worked in Secondary care, Primary care, Ambulance Services and Community Public Health Nursing, before joining Public Health Wales and becoming the first Executive Director of Quality, Nursing and AHP’s appointment for the organisation.
Her current role includes executive leadership for quality, safety, engagement, risk management systems, information governance, integrated governance, and the national safeguarding team, while also providing professional leadership for nursing/midwifery and AHP’s within Public Health Wales. She is currently playing a key role supporting the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the Strategic Directors within Public Health Wales.
Rhiannon became the first specialist Domestic Abuse Health Visitor in Wales providing innovative packages of support to victims of Domestic Abuse and their families and was also a Health Visitor Practice teacher for student Health Visitors. Rhiannon spent several years as a specialist and Named Nurse for Safeguarding and led several improvement projects during this time,
On completing Health Visitor training in 1995, she later went on to complete an MSc Econ. In addition was awarded a Florence Nightingale leadership scholarship in 2013, spending time in Cuba learning about this health system.
In 2018 Rhiannon spent time in the World Health Organisation European Regional Head Quarters, supporting work on the impact of the European strategic directions for strengthening nursing and midwifery towards Health 2020 goals (ESDNM) (2015).
The Nursing Now Cymru/Wales was launched in March 2019, led by Rhiannon who has worked with different sectors across NHS Wales and Academia in Wales to share best practice influence policy and focus on health and wellbeing. Having also previously chaired the Director of Nursing forum for NHS Wales and currently chairing the All Wales Maternity and Neonatal network.
Rhiannon is passionate about the important role of prevention and tackling inequalities, ensuring universal health coverage (UHC) across the world and believes the role of the nurses and midwives is critical to achieving UHC and improved health outcomes.
She has undertaken Executive level coaching training and believes that coaching is an excellent tool to support and unleash the potential which people have within.
Trustee
Simon Reiter
Trustee
Simon Reiter
Simon has previously held CFO roles in a number of business sectors, most recently in healthcare both acute and social care. After starting his career as a graduate with British Gas, Simon spent 10 years in retail with Sears plc. At Sears he held a series of positions in both the operating businesses and group finance where he worked on the Selfridges IPO and other corporate activity. After a subsequent three years with Adecco, the global recruitment business, he moved into healthcare with Bupa Care Services who operated over 400 care homes in 4 countries. He then worked with Terra Firma and Four Seasons to define and launch the care home business brighterkind.
Most recently he was CFO of The London Clinic, one of the UK’s largest independent hospitals, and charity, with an international reputation for treating patients with complex needs.
Simon is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and has a degree in Business Studies and a Diploma in Company Direction from the IOD.
Trustee
Ben Edwards
Trustee
Ben Edwards
Ben Edwards, CFA, CAIA, works in investment management advising global institutional investors on traditional and alternative investments. Since 2017 he has served as Head of Institutional Business in the UK for GAM Investments. Prior to this, he spent a year on sabbatical caring for his young children after over a decade in a similar role as Head of UK and Ireland institutional clients at PIMCO. He started his career in 1999 at Citigroup Corporate & Investment bank. He holds a Master’s in finance from London Business School, a first-class honours degree in civil engineering from Loughborough University and is a CFA and CAIA charter holder. He is a member nominated pension scheme trustee and a trustee for the Florence Nightingale Foundation.
Trustee
Judy O'Sullivan
Trustee
Judy O'Sullivan
Judy started her career as a registered nurse in Ireland in the early 1990s. She worked in Accident & Emergency departments in Sydney before studying to be a cardiac nurse in London. Following a decade of frontline nursing she moved to the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in 2002 where she has over 10 years’ experience of being in a senior leadership role. She hold a Master’s in Health Promotion from King’s College London and a PostGrad Diploma in Public Leadership and Management from Warwick Business School.
She has led a diverse portfolio of patient facing programmes including a nationwide roadshow and a membership programme. She has also worked on a wide range of fundraising and commercial projects to support the organisation to generate income for its lifesaving work. She has established credibility with National Clinical Directors, Medical Directors and Scientists in the NHS and influential leaders in other charities. She led the redevelopment of the organisations’ community resuscitation training programme which led to over 7 million people learning lifesaving skills. Her current role includes leading a national change programme in partnership with the UK’s 14 ambulance services to transform the mapping of defibrillators to help save lives from cardiac arrest in communities, workplaces and the home.
She is delighted to be given the opportunity to support the Florence Nightingale Foundation’s fantastic cause.
Trustee
Dale Spence
Trustee
Dale Spence
Trustee
David Benton
Trustee
David Benton
David comes from the North East of Scotland and completed his RN education in Inverness. He has an MPhil degree on the application of computer assisted learning to post basic psychiatric nurse education from the University of Abertay and his PhD Summa Cum Laude from the University of Complutence Spain, for his groundbreaking work on an international comparison of nursing legislation. A global expert in nursing and regulation he has advised governments and UN agencies around the world on both nursing legislation and on wider health policy issues. He has been awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing, the American Academy of Nursing and is a Nightingale Foundation scholar recipient and Fellow. David is currently the chief executive officer of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing based in Chicago, USA.
Trustee
Group Captain Fionnuala (Fin) Bradley
Trustee
Group Captain Fionnuala (Fin) Bradley
Group Captain Fionnuala (Fin) Bradley joined the RAF as a nurse in 1994. She has completed a number of operational deployments, including serving as Aeromedical Liaison Officer in Bosnia in 1996, and 3 tours on Air Evacuation duties in Baghdad, Iraq. She has also completed detachments to Brunei, Malaysia and Ascension Island. In 2008 she undertook her first staff appointment in the Ministry of Defence and has since worked in staff duties at RAF HQ and the Surgeon General’s Department. In 2011 she was appointed as Matron of the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court where from there she attended the Advance Command and Staff Course, also gaining an MA in Defence Studies. Promoted to Group Captain in April 2016, she was appointed as the Deputy Defence Medical Services Regulator, responsible for assuring the quality of all medical care provided to Service Personnel. 2018 She was appointed as Matron-in-Chief to the PMRAFNS. Dual-hatted she is also Deputy to Head of RAF Medical Services, responsible for Medical Personnel and Training, an extensive and broad role.
Gp Capt Bradley has also represented the Royal Air Force, and the Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service, at tennis and skiing.