Tony Carr
Anthony Carr entered general nurse training at Selly Oak Hospital Birmingham in 1951 when 18 years old and successively held posts of Staff Nurse and Charge Nurse at that hospital. He undertook district nurse training in Birmingham taking the first National Certificate in District Nursing having number 4 on his certificate. At the same time he was placed on the Queen’s Roll and became a Queen’s Nurse.
He was then appointed in succession an Assistant Matron in Charge to commission and open the Joseph Sheldon Hospital in Birmingham, Midlands Area Officer of the Royal College of Nursing, Principal of the William Rathbone Staff College Liverpool and Chief Nursing Officer Central Wirral Hospital Management Committee (9 hospitals & head of Nursing Training School). While in the last post he revised the oldest nurse cadet scheme in the country (1943) into a full time educational course for 16 year olds allowing the school of nursing to lay down a 5 ‘O’ level entry and instead of vacancies when first arriving there was a two year waiting list within two years. A staff appraisal scheme was also introduced which became a national scheme some five years later. His last position in the NHS was as Chief Nursing Officer Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (Teaching) Health Authority for some fourteen years (17 hospitals and the community nursing services in the city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne & Head of largest Nurse Training School in the UK).
In the 1970's he became chairman of two important working parties at the Department of Health. In 1975 he chaired a working party of the Education and Training of SRN/RGN in District Nursing and later chaired another group on the Education and Training of the Enrolled Nurse in the Community. Action on the former report resulted in district nurse training being moved to colleges of further and higher education and paved the way for the present degree in district nursing. For this work he was honoured by the Royal College of Nursing by the award of Fellowship of the College (1984).
He was one of four members of a committee (Cumberledge) set up by the Secretary of State for Health in 1985 to review the Community Nursing Services in England. The subsequent report Neighbourhood Nursing had a great impact upon the management of the community nursing services.
In addition he served on the Council of the RCN at varying periods over sixteen years was an elected member of the first English National Board and UKCC Joint Committee for District Nursing, member of the Panel of Assessors for District nursing and chairman of its education committee. He was also a member of the council of the Queen’s Nursing Institute.
During his time in nursing he was consulting editor of Senior Nurse and on the Board of the Nursing Mirror. He has had published about 100 papers in the medical and nursing journals.
Management consultancy
At 52 years, through illness, he retired from the NHS and became a management consultant under the name AJC Consultants. Among his clients were Cow & Gate and the Royal College of Midwives. He still kept in contact with the NHS becoming a non-executive director of Solihull primary Care NHS Trust in 1997 and vice chairman of the Trust in 1998 until 2003. At present he is a Hospital Manager under the Mental Health Act reviewing patients detained under that act.
Ordained Minister
Anthony has preached in different churches most of his adult life and was ordained as a Christian minister in 1995 and holds ministerial credentials of the Free Methodist Church. He has, during this time, obtained the degrees of Bachelor of Theology, Master of Religious Arts and Doctor of Sacred Literature. He is presently studying for a Doctor of Divinity degree. He is a team minster of the Renewal Christian Centre Solihull an a minister of Wren’s Chapel, Wroxall Abbey Warwickshire.
Finally, he contributes regularly to the Letters page of The Times.