Professor Deborah Sturdy OBE has been appointed by the UK government as its first ever Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care in England.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said Sturdy (pictured) will take up the new role to represent social care nurses and provide clinical leadership to the workforce.
She will work closely with Care Minister Helen Whately and the Chief Nursing Officer Ruth May to ensure the provision of “high quality, personalised, joined-up care”, it added.
Sturdy had already been advising Ruth May in the former’s role of strategic advisor for care home nursing, to which she was appointed in February.
Announced within the Adult Social Care Winter Plan in September, Sturdy will “act as champion for the interests of social care nurses and work to ensure at-risk adults are provided with high quality care,” said a DHSC spokesman.
The role is an interim appointment for up to six months, to further increase the professional support and expertise in the department over winter ahead of filling the post on a more permanent basis in 2021.
Social care industry leaders welcomed the appointment of Sturdy as the new Adult Social Care Chief Nurse.
“The appointment marks an important milestone in the development of social care nursing,” said Care England chief executive Professor Martin Green.
“Deborah has extensive experience in the independent sector as well as the NHS and I am confident that she will enable better understanding of social care nursing across the health and care system,” he added
