The Queen’s Nursing Institute Annual Conference 2024

Dr Crystal Oldman CBE joined the QNI in November 2012 as Chief Executive. Crystal 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. She has a passion for learning, teaching and research to support best practice and in 1994 joined Buckinghamshire New University as a senior lecturer, to develop a variety of community nursing programmes. Crystal enjoyed an academic career for a further 18 years, completing her Higher Education career as Dean of Enterprise and Business Management in the Faculty of Society & Health, where her role included the development of partnerships with external agencies to promote research and assist in workforce development. Crystal’s interest in leadership and management inspired her doctoral studies into the knowledge, skills and attributes of middle managers and this research was completed in 2014. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2017 for services to community nursing and her leadership of the QNI.

Professor John Unsworth is the Interim Deputy Faculty Pro Vice Chancellor at Northumbria University. He has a background in community nursing practice, education, management and research. Prior to his current post John has worked as the Head of Learning and Teaching, University of Sunderland, Head of Academic Development at the Higher Education Academy and as Director of Nursing Programmes at Northumbria University. He is an experienced NHS manager having been a Nurse Director in a rural Care Trust in Northern England prior to taking up posts in Higher Education. He has experience of workforce redesign in relation to developing the community nurses’ role around admission avoidance. John is also an International Council of Nurses (ICN) Global Nursing Leadership Scholar 2020. John has extensive experience of developing nursing, medical and higher education internationally having worked to develop teachers and practice in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana, Bahrain, Hungary, Ukraine and Grenada (West Indies). John trained as a nurse in Sunderland and worked in a variety of acute ward settings before moving into district nursing. He completed his specialist practitioner qualification in district nursing in 1997 and he has worked in a variety of roles including district nursing, as a specialist nurse and nurse consultant. He has a PhD from Robert Gordon University which specifically examined the influence of health care organisations on innovation and development. John is an alumnus of the QNI Innovation and Creative Practice Awards and is a Queen’s Nurse. John was awarded an OBE for services to community nursing and community nurse education in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022. 

Ben co-founded and leads the QNI Community Nursing Research Forum, strengthening nursing research capacity, leadership and evidence-based practice in the community. He is a Welcome Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Cambridge, and a practicing Honorary Nurse Consultant in Palliative Care. Ben leads research focused on improving dignified dying at home. He is an interdisciplinary clinical academic, whose programme of research draws on engineering design, patient safety and social sciences. Ben was recently announced as one of the 75 nurses and midwives whose work has had an especially significant impact on the NHS since its creation. He was awarded the RCGP and Society for Academic Primary Care Outstanding Early Care Researcher.

Prof Gina Awoko Higginbottom MBE was appointed in 2015 as the Mary Seacole Professor of Ethnicity and Community Health at the University of Nottingham – the first nurse of BME origin to hold a professorship in a Russell Group university in England and is now Professor Emerita. She is a nurse, midwife and health visitor. Formerly a Canada Research Chair in Ethnicity and Health (renewed) for 8 years at the University Alberta, Canada the faculty ranked #1 for nursing in Canada. The first woman of colour to hold a CRC awarded in 2007, the CRC award is a marker of research excellence.

Dr Crystal Oldman CBE joined the QNI in November 2012 as Chief Executive. Crystal 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. She has a passion for learning, teaching and research to support best practice and in 1994 joined Buckinghamshire New University as a senior lecturer, to develop a variety of community nursing programmes. Crystal enjoyed an academic career for a further 18 years, completing her Higher Education career as Dean of Enterprise and Business Management in the Faculty of Society & Health, where her role included the development of partnerships with external agencies to promote research and assist in workforce development. Crystal’s interest in leadership and management inspired her doctoral studies into the knowledge, skills and attributes of middle managers and this research was completed in 2014. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2017 for services to community nursing and her leadership of the QNI.

Dr Crystal Oldman CBE joined the QNI in November 2012 as Chief Executive. Crystal 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. She has a passion for learning, teaching and research to support best practice and in 1994 joined Buckinghamshire New University as a senior lecturer, to develop a variety of community nursing programmes. Crystal enjoyed an academic career for a further 18 years, completing her Higher Education career as Dean of Enterprise and Business Management in the Faculty of Society & Health, where her role included the development of partnerships with external agencies to promote research and assist in workforce development. Crystal’s interest in leadership and management inspired her doctoral studies into the knowledge, skills and attributes of middle managers and this research was completed in 2014. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2017 for services to community nursing and her leadership of the QNI.

Qualified in 2001 as an RMN, briefly worked as a CPN for Adults before gaining employment in Cornwall with the Older Person's Service. 2005 piloted the first Memory Clinic in Cornwall which was replicated across the county in 2009. 2013 became the Clinical Lead for East Cornwall then ACP for the whole of Cornwall's Memory Services.

DIPHE Nursing, BSc (1st), MSc Mental Health (Merit), Non-medical prescriber. Queens Nurse 2013, QNI Aspiring Leadership course 2017, Winston Churchill Fellow 2018. Principal Investigator for many portfolios as well as local research studies, published several times, the last article (2020) reviewed the use of psilocybin in Alzheimer's disease.

Not ready to retire yet!

George has been the Chief Executive of the National Garden Scheme since 2010. The NGS gives visitors unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens in England and Wales and raises impressive amounts of money for nursing and health charities through admissions, teas and plants. Annual donations are in excess of £3 million. Previous career as a gardens author and journalist started in 1980. The first of 14 garden books, Royal Gardens, was published in 1981. The most recent, The English Country House Garden, was published in 2014 and won the GMG's 'Inspirational Book of the Year' award.

Emma is a registered mental health nurse who progressed her career in clinical and service management roles across Surrey, Sussex and London, including in prison settings. Since 2020 Emma was the Deputy Director of Mental Health Nursing for NHS England and gained her PhD on the impact of grief and stigma after suicide in 2022. Throughout her career Emma has continued to work clinically, most recently this was as a Consultant Nurse within a psychiatric liaison service. Emma is committed to continual improvement and global mental health; she is a Technical Advisor to the WHO’s European Mental Health Collaborative and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey.

Dr Crystal Oldman CBE joined the QNI in November 2012 as Chief Executive. Crystal 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. She has a passion for learning, teaching and research to support best practice and in 1994 joined Buckinghamshire New University as a senior lecturer, to develop a variety of community nursing programmes. Crystal enjoyed an academic career for a further 18 years, completing her Higher Education career as Dean of Enterprise and Business Management in the Faculty of Society & Health, where her role included the development of partnerships with external agencies to promote research and assist in workforce development. Crystal’s interest in leadership and management inspired her doctoral studies into the knowledge, skills and attributes of middle managers and this research was completed in 2014. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2017 for services to community nursing and her leadership of the QNI.

As Deputy Vice Chancellor, Brian’s strategic portfolio covers learning, teaching, research and knowledge exchange.

He is both a mental health and adult nurse and has been a registered nurse for 39 years.

Brian has been leading on the creation of the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine, a partnership with Imperial College London, which opens in 2025.

He has an extensive national and international profile and previously held the post of Chair of the Council of Deans of Health UK.

Brian was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours in 2024 and was recognised as a QNI Fellow in 2022.

Julie was appointed as an NMC Senior Nursing Education Adviser in July 2023. 

Julie is a Registered Nurse (Adult), Specialist Practitioner – District Nursing, and Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Julie has a wealth of experience in higher education working with practice learning partners and students to deliver NMC programmes for nursing and midwifery alongside continuing professional development of registrants. 

Julie was Chair of the Association of District Nurse and Community Nurse Educators (ADNE) for 7 years, stepping down in June 2023. Julie is proud to be a Queen's Nurse and is a member of the Editorial Board of the British Journal of Community Nursing

Michelle has been working at the University of Roehampton for 5 years where she has been part of a team initiating a brand-new school of nursing with a community/primary care focus. She is a District Nurse by background and had a 15-year clinical career before joining full time academia in 2013. She has a passion for educating students nurse and inspiring them to take community posts as a first destination career. Her teaching interests also include managing long term conditions and clinical skills and simulation. Research interests also include developing resilience in the student nurse population.

Professor Laura Serrant CBE is a multi-award-winning Leadership development and Inclusive practice specialist, professional speaker, and experienced coach. She is Director her Leadership Development and Executive Coaching business, Laura Serrant Limited. Laura works with individuals and organisations to help them meet their personal aspirations, corporate and social responsibilities of optimising inclusive practice to improve their business impact, client experiences and deliver their best of themselves. Author of over 100 articles, including edited books, she is one of the BBC Expert women and was named as the 8th most influential Black person in Britain by the Power list UK. In 2 was awarded a CBE for services to Nursing

As Deputy Vice Chancellor, Brian’s strategic portfolio covers learning, teaching, research and knowledge exchange.

He is both a mental health and adult nurse and has been a registered nurse for 39 years.

Brian has been leading on the creation of the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine, a partnership with Imperial College London, which opens in 2025.

He has an extensive national and international profile and previously held the post of Chair of the Council of Deans of Health UK.

Brian was awarded an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours in 2024 and was recognised as a QNI Fellow in 2022.

Professor John Unsworth is the Interim Deputy Faculty Pro Vice Chancellor at Northumbria University. He has a background in community nursing practice, education, management and research. Prior to his current post John has worked as the Head of Learning and Teaching, University of Sunderland, Head of Academic Development at the Higher Education Academy and as Director of Nursing Programmes at Northumbria University. He is an experienced NHS manager having been a Nurse Director in a rural Care Trust in Northern England prior to taking up posts in Higher Education. He has experience of workforce redesign in relation to developing the community nurses’ role around admission avoidance. John is also an International Council of Nurses (ICN) Global Nursing Leadership Scholar 2020. John has extensive experience of developing nursing, medical and higher education internationally having worked to develop teachers and practice in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana, Bahrain, Hungary, Ukraine and Grenada (West Indies). John trained as a nurse in Sunderland and worked in a variety of acute ward settings before moving into district nursing. He completed his specialist practitioner qualification in district nursing in 1997 and he has worked in a variety of roles including district nursing, as a specialist nurse and nurse consultant. He has a PhD from Robert Gordon University which specifically examined the influence of health care organisations on innovation and development. John is an alumni of the QNI Innovation and Creative Practice Awards and is a Queen’s Nurse. John was awarded an OBE for services to community nursing and community nurse education in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022.  

Professor Van-Tam is a pioneering epidemiologist, public health advocate and former Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England (2017 – 2022).

From October 2017 until March 2022 JVT was seconded to the Department of Health and Social Care, England as Deputy Chief Medical Officer where his portfolio was vaccines, pharmaceuticals, health protection, and biosecurity. In that role he has been extensively involved in domestic vaccines policy, seasonal influenza, infectious disease incidents (Ebola, Monkey Pox), the Novichok attack, and the Covid-19 pandemic, including every aspect of the successful UK vaccine procurement and deployment programme. He was a member of the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and co-Chair of the Global Health Security Advisory Group (GHSAG) Pandemic Influenza Working Group (PIWG). He has received multiple awards and accolades for his public communication of science and was awarded a Knighthood for services to Public Health in 2022.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Nursing Officer for England in July 2024, Duncan held the post of Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England. In this role, he led the maternity and neonatal programme and the children and young people’s transformation programme, as well as nursing workforce policy and infection prevention and control.

Duncan has spent his entire career in nursing in the NHS and has held a variety of leadership and executive roles. Duncan is passionate about improving patient care and experience, improving the population’s health, growing, developing and nurturing the workforce, and inspiring the next generation of nursing and midwifery professionals and leaders.

Anne Armstrong was appointed Interim Chief Nursing Officer in April 2024.

She was previously Deputy Chief Nursing Officer. As Chief Nursing Officer, Anne has professional responsibility for two thirds of the NHS Scotland workforce, as her role has responsibility for nursing, midwifery, allied healthcare professionals and healthcare scientists. Anne also leads on a number of key policy areas, including infection prevention control. She joined Scottish Government in January 2020 as the Nurse Advisor – Mental Health from NHS Lanarkshire. Anne previously worked in the NHS for many years both within NHS Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire.

Paul is a registered nurse with over 38 years of experience and currently provides professional advice to Ministers, the Welsh Government and the Welsh NHS on primary and community care. Becoming a Fellow of the Queens Nursing Institute in 2023. His previous roles include deputy director of nursing roles as well as senior management roles within the NHS in both acute and community organisations. Paul has undertaken leadership studies at Harvard and visited integrated community services in the Netherland to support his work. Paul provides the nursing voice for decarbonisation and climate change within Welsh Government. He is the author of a number of papers including national guidance in Wales.

Barbara Stilwell is a nurse and public health specialist with a decades long interest in supporting health workers. She has worked for the World Health Organization and for non-profit organizations as a technical specialist and has been based in the middle east and sub-Saharan Africa. Stilwell returned to the UK to head the global advocacy campaign, Nursing Now from 2018-2021. She currently works as a consultant, working on nurse leadership as well as with a World Bank team in Libya to strengthen nursing there. She is the author of 'Global Health and Nursing: a new narrative for the 21st Century'.

Thea Stein is the Chief Executive of the Nuffield Trust. She took up the post in September 2023.Thea was previously Chief Executive at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, and before then Chief Executive of Carers Trust, Yorkshire Forward and Northeast Leeds Primary Care Trust. Thea has also held a number of non-executive roles in housing organisations and academia. Thea was a trustee of the Nuffield Trust between 2019 and 2023.

Professor John Unsworth is the Interim Deputy Faculty Pro Vice Chancellor at Northumbria University. He has a background in community nursing practice, education, management and research. Prior to his current post John has worked as the Head of Learning and Teaching, University of Sunderland, Head of Academic Development at the Higher Education Academy and as Director of Nursing Programmes at Northumbria University. He is an experienced NHS manager having been a Nurse Director in a rural Care Trust in Northern England prior to taking up posts in Higher Education. He has experience of workforce redesign in relation to developing the community nurses’ role around admission avoidance. John is also an International Council of Nurses (ICN) Global Nursing Leadership Scholar 2020. John has extensive experience of developing nursing, medical and higher education internationally having worked to develop teachers and practice in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Ghana, Bahrain, Hungary, Ukraine and Grenada (West Indies). John trained as a nurse in Sunderland and worked in a variety of acute ward settings before moving into district nursing. He completed his specialist practitioner qualification in district nursing in 1997 and he has worked in a variety of roles including district nursing, as a specialist nurse and nurse consultant. He has a PhD from Robert Gordon University which specifically examined the influence of health care organisations on innovation and development. John is an alumni of the QNI Innovation and Creative Practice Awards and is a Queen’s Nurse. John was awarded an OBE for services to community nursing and community nurse education in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022.