Biographies
Here are details on some of the RCN's key personnel, including the RCN's President, Chair of Council and General Secretary. Further details and images can be obtained from the RCN's UK Media Office on:
- tel: 020 7647 3633
President - Maura Buchanan, BA, RGN, PG Dip (Neurosciences), PG Dip (Health Law)
President of the Royal College of Nursing
Download hires image (JPG 61.6KB) Maura Buchanan has been an active member of the RCN for many years. She served on RCN Council as Chair of Congress from 1998 – 2002 and Deputy President from 2002 to 2006. In October 2006 she was elected RCN President.
Maura began her nursing career graduating with a BA, RGN from Glasgow College of Technology (now Caledonia University) followed by 2 years working as a Research Assistant at Glasgow University.
Currently, Maura Buchanan is the Senior Nurse/Nursing Quality Manager of the busy, acute Private Patient Unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Maura’s speciality is Neurosurgery and she has worked in this area both in Glasgow, London and Oxford. Her particular interests are Health Law and Ethics.
Chair of Council - Eirlys Warrington
Chair of the Council of the Royal College of Nursing
Download hires image (JPG 79.4KB) Eirlys is well known to RCN members in Wales, where she has served as Chair of the Welsh Board for the past four years.
Eirlys’s nurse training began in 1960 at Macclesfield Infirmary and West Park Branch. She then worked at North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary before training as a mental health nurse at St Edwards Hospital. A ward manager role in orthopaedic and trauma nursing at North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary was followed by a move to the Accident and Emergency Department to become part of the developing M6 motorway accident team.
Eirlys returned to Wales in 1970, spending two years as a night sister covering all wards plus accident and emergency at the Royal Gwent Hospital. She went on to work in acute psychiatry at St Cadoc's hospital in Newport where she developed ‘one to one’ nursing of people with anorexia nervosa.
At this point Eirlys was selected to represent Gwent Health Authority, at national level, to train as an expert in caring for people with HIV/AIDS. By the early 1980s she had joint responsibility for the development of the nursing service in Gwent. In 1986 she joined the planning team for the first course in Wales on the care and management of people with HIV/AIDS, later becoming a facilitator and lecturer for the course.
As a pioneer in the nursing care of people with HIV/AIDS across acute and community settings in Wales, Eirlys was for many years the only dedicated HIV/AIDS nurse in the county.
Throughout her career Eirlys has been an active member of the Royal College of Nursing. Her contribution has ranged from stewarding and recruitment to speaking at national and international conferences.
General Secretary - Dr Peter Carter
General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing
Download hires image (JPG 2.5MB) Dr Peter Carter OBE is General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the world’s largest professional union of nurses. The RCN has a membership of 400,000 nurses, midwives, health visitors, nursing students, cadets and health care assistants.
Before assuming the post of RCN General Secretary in January 2007 Dr Carter spent almost twelve years as the Chief Executive of the Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust, one of the largest mental health trusts in the UK with an operating budget of over £180 million and an international reputation.
He commenced his NHS career by training as a psychiatric nurse at Hill End Hospital St Albans. He is also a general nurse, having trained at St Albans City Hospital and the Institute of Urology in London. In addition he has held a number of clinical and managerial posts in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and London.
Dr Carter is a graduate, and a member, of the Chartered Institute of Personnel. He also has a Masters Degree in Business Administration and a PhD – both from the University of Birmingham. He was awarded the OBE for services to the NHS in the 2006 New Year’s Honours.
Janet Davies
Executive Director, Service Delivery
Download hires image (JPG 63.3KB) Janet Davies joined the RCN as Executive Director of Service Delivery in September 2005. She has the strategic lead on member services, including pay negotiations, diversity, RCN Direct, legal services, marketing and the RCN counselling services.
Prior to joining RCN, Janet was Chief Executive of Mersey Regional Ambulance Service NHS Trust, where she was instrumental in overseeing an extensive programme of change and development, helping to secure government funding for more ambulances and staff. She closely involved patients and the public to help design the delivery of care, transforming the organisation into a more patient focused service.
Janet started her nursing career in 1975, in Manchester, and gained experience in acute, mental health and community settings. She later moved into director of nursing roles, where she obtained extensive experience in leading and developing the nursing profession. She also pioneered good partnership working with other health care organisations, as well as social services, the police, the fire service and the wider community.