Chief nurse appointed for new south west London hospitals group

Arlene Wellman has been appointed the group chief nursing officer at the newly formed St George’s Epsom and St Helier hospitals group.

She is one of the executive team that will take over leadership of the hospitals group from 10 January 2022.

“I remain committed to ensuring our teams are empowered to provide outstanding care every time and recognise their efforts in doing so”

Arlene Wellman

The group was created in August this year between Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust and St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The two trusts, which together cover south west London and north east Surrey, remain separate organisations but with one executive team.

Ms Wellman originally qualified as a nurse in Trinidad before moving to the UK to train as a midwife. She then chose to shift to elderly care nursing, and has 20 years’ experience in this field.

Ms Wellman has held a number of senior nursing roles across acute trusts including matron, senior matron and divisional nurse at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. Since 2018 she has been chief nurse at Epsom and St Helier.

In June 2021 she was awarded an MBE in recognition of her contribution to nursing.

Ms Wellman has a Florence Nightingale Leadership Fellowship and is working towards becoming a registered patient safety executive with the Institute of Healthcare Improvement.

As chief nursing officer she will be responsible for the nursing, midwifery and healthcare support workforce across the hospitals group as well as infection prevention and control.

Ms Wellman said: “Having been chief nurse at Epsom and St Helier since 2018, including throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, I am delighted to be appointed to be the chief nursing officer of the newly formed St George’s, Epsom and St Helier hospitals group.”

She added: “It is an exciting time for the hospital group and I remain committed to ensuring our teams are empowered to provide outstanding care every time and recognise their efforts in doing so.”

https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/leadership-news/chief-nurse-appointed-for-new-south-west-london-hospitals-group-10-12-2021/

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