The Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care is proud to present the Perseverance Trust Nightingale Fellowship Lecture 2025.

This year’s hybrid event marks the inaugural lectures of Professor Avey Bhatia OBE and Professor Tracey Carter MBE. The evening is a celebration of their appointments as Professors of the Practice of Nursing, recognising their sustained achievements as senior nurses in advancing patient safety, upholding nursing and midwifery standards, and supporting student education. Both will share an overview of their contributions to the field.

This hybrid event is free and open to members of the public. The lectures will be followed by a drinks reception in the Jean Hanson Room for those who attend in person.

Agenda

5.45 pm — Registration opens

6.00 pm — Welcome & opening remarks
Professor Richard Harding

6.10 pm — Inaugural lectures
Professor Avey Bhatia OBE
Professor Tracey Carter MBE

7.00 pm — Closing addresses
Professor Graham Lord
Professor Richard Harding

7.15 pm — Drinks reception (in-person only)
In-person guests are welcome to join us in the Jean Hanson Room for drinks and canapes.

Speakers

Professor Avey Bhatia OBE

Professor Avey Bhatia OBE, Professor of the Practice of Nursing, King's College London

Avey qualified in 1991 and her clinical experience includes theaters, coronary care and general and cardiothoracic intensive care nursing. Her first Chief Nurse role was at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, where she had previously undertaken her nurse training. She then became Chief Nurse at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in February 2017.

Avey has a Master’s degree in public administration and is President of the Florence Nightingale Foundation and honorary Vice President of the Nightingale Fellowship. She returned to Guy’s and St Thomas’ as Chief Nurse in November 2020, having trained as a critical care nurse at St Thomas’ at the beginning of her career.

Reflecting on her new appointment, she said: “I am deeply honoured to receive this Professorship and am grateful to my colleagues at the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care for their support. This position comes with great responsibility and I am committed to ensuring the highest standards of education for our students. Guy’s and St Thomas’ close working relationship with King’s College London ensures excellence in teaching, research and innovation which benefits our patients. This is just one of the many ways in which our collaboration continues to strengthen to advance medicine and clinical care for the future.”

Professor Tracey Carter MBE

Professor Tracey Carter MBE, Professor of the Practice of Nursing, King's College London

Tracey qualified in 1992 and her clinical experience is in oncology, palliative care and haematology.

As Chief Nurse and Executive Director of Midwifery at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Tracey’s responsibilities include the professional leadership of the Trust’s 6,000 nursing, midwifery and allied health professional staff. She also has overall responsibility for safeguarding vulnerable patients, as well as infection prevention and control. Prior to joining KCH, Tracey was Chief Nurse and Director of Infection Prevention and Control at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, a role she held for nine years.

Tracey has an MSc in advanced clinical practice and she undertook the Florence Nightingale/Windsor Leadership System leadership course. Tracey is a Trustee at Hertfordshire MIND and returned to London to join King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in 2023. She has over 30 years’ experience as a nurse and has held several senior positions before joining West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals, including as Deputy Chief Nurse at Barts Health. In May 2019, Tracey received a prestigious Chief Nursing Officer award, and in 2010 she was appointed an MBE for her nursing leadership and services to the NHS.

Speaking about her new role, she said: “I’m honoured to be awarded a Professorship of Professional Practice from King’s College London, and very much look forward to sharing my knowledge with nursing students to help bridge the gap between theoretical learning and hands-on experience. It is a privilege to be bestowed this role with King’s College London, and an honour to represent the profession in the pursuit of continued excellence in education and outcomes across King’s Health Partners, influencing the wider health and social care landscape.”

Closing remarks

Professor Graham Lord, Senior Vice-President (Health & Life Sciences), King's College London

Graham is the Senior Vice-President, Health & Life Sciences, King’s College London, Executive Director, King’s Health Partners and Chief Academic Officer & Board Director, Guy’s & St. Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts.

He was previously Vice-President at the University of Manchester and Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, a Consultant Transplant Nephrologist at Manchester NHS Foundation Trust and Executive Director of the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (2019-2024).

Event chair

Professor Richard Harding, Executive Dean, Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care, King's College London

Richard is Executive Dean of the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care and Herbert Dunhill Chair of Palliative Care & Rehabilitation.

Within the Faculty, he previously held the post of Vice Dean (International), and Director of the Cicely Saunders Institute. He is the Director of the King's WHO Collaborating Centre for Palliative Care. He is Vice Chair of the World Hospice Palliative Care Alliance and a Trustee of Marie Curie. He holds visiting Chairs in Palliative Care at the University of Cape Town and at Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India.

About the Perseverance Trust

The Perseverance Trust promotes the study and practice of nursing by assisting nurses, midwives, or persons of hospital staff who are in need through lack of means.

The Trust's scholarship programme has helped to fund the studies of students in the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care, so they can achieve their aspirations to become the nurses and the midwives of the future.

 

Please note that this lecture will be recorded and shared on the NMPC YouTube channel.