Neslyn Watson Druée
MBE, MSc, BA Hons(Psyc), DipH.Ed, Higher Dip.HV, RM, RGN, PGCE, RNT, MCIPD
Neslyn Watson Druée was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing in 2001 for her outstanding contribution to promoting diversity in nursing.
Neslyn is Executive Director of Beacon Organisational Development and Chair of Kingston Primary Care Trust. Neslyn is a pioneer in promoting diversity in nursing and the wider health care arena. Much of her work has focused on bringing about a cultural change in the health service so that it recognises the contribution of nurses from black and minority ethnic groups.
Neslyn's career began as a nurse and health visitor, and she went on to become a lecturer in health, education and training in the 1980s. She joined the RCN's Health and Social Policy Committee in 1990, where she presented the case for setting up a Committee on Health, Race and Ethnicity. She was inaugural Chair of this committee, which went on to raise £25,000 from the Department of Health to develop the Nurses into Leadership Positions project.
In 1994, Neslyn's vision led her to initiate and develop the seminal national Demonstration Leadership Programme for nurses and professions allied to medicine from black and minority ethnic communities. The programme has gone from strength to strength, and is sponsored by NHS Workforce Confederations and NHS Regional Offices and accredited by several universities. Many nurses who have undertaken the programme have gone on to senior positions in the health service and organisations such as the Commission for Health Improvement, while others are contributing in leadership roles in education and service delivery.
Neslyn has worked directly with NHS trusts around the UK to develop diversity training, and she chaired a review of the ethnic sensitivity of the South West NHS Region's services, looking at equality of access for patients as well as equal opportunities for staff. She was appointed by the Secretary of State for Health to the UKCC from 1993 to 1998, and was a member of the Chief Nursing Officer's reference group for the national nursing strategy, ‘Making a difference’. She is a member of the Department of Health Commissioning Group on Patient Partnership, and of the NHS Executive London Quality Taskforce. She is also a board member of 'Getting London Working', an employment regeneration project.
Neslyn established her own company, Beacon Organisational Development, in 1989. Through local authorities and the London Enterprise Agency she has worked with multinational companies to develop staff career development programmes. She developed a National Career and Personal Development Programme for the NSPCC to aid retention and recruitment of staff from black and minority ethnic communities, thus helping the charity provide culturally sensitive and appropriate services. She also created a mentoring programme for BBC Network Radio.
Widespread recognition has been given to Neslyn for her diversity work, such as the Special Recognition Award for outstanding contribution to nursing in the Nursing Standard Millennium Nurse Awards. She was awarded an MBE in 1999 for services to the development of nursing leadership.