Carolyn Fleurat

Forum Chair

Senior Nurse – CNO Policy and Strategy Unit, Nursing Directorate, NHS England

Carolyn qualified as a Registered Nurse in 2014 after training later in life, having previously worked in sales and operations. She began her nursing career in A&E before moving into community nursing to accommodate a young family. In 2018, Carolyn qualified as a District Nurse upon completing a Specialist Practice degree and went on to achieve a Master of Science in District Nursing in 2022.

Since transitioning to community nursing, [Name] has held a variety of roles, including Community Staff Nurse, Senior Staff Nurse, District Nurse, Operational Lead, Transformation Lead Nurse, and Operational Manager. She also completed a Community Nurse Fellowship with NHS England, working closely with the Director of Primary Care and Community Nursing to support the implementation of the annual community nursing plan.

Passionate about improving NHS services, Carolyn is committed to delivering sustainable and holistic care. A strong advocate for community nursing, she champions the expertise of nursing and nursing support colleagues and actively collaborates with VCSE and multi-disciplinary partners to enhance clinical pathways and improve patient experiences. In her current role as Senior Nurse within the CNO Policy and Strategy Unit, Carolyn continues to provide a vital clinical voice and vision in shaping national nursing policy.

As Chair of the forum Carolyn’s vision for the future is to grow membership and work collaboratively with members to drive innovation, develop impactful initiatives, and ensure the forum is fully utilised by colleagues across community services.

Gail Goddard

District Nurse Team Manager / Senior Lecturer

Gail qualified as a Registered Nurse from UCH in 1988. Following this, she worked in hospital settings until 1990, when she transitioned into community nursing. Over the course of her career, she held various roles including Registered Nurse, District Nurse Team Manager, Specialist Community Practice Teacher, Practice Supervisor and Assessor, and General Practice Nurse, until retiring in December 2020.

She later returned to work part-time as a District Nurse, providing support across community teams. In this role, she supported newly qualified nurses, newly qualified District Nurses with SPQ qualifications, and offered personal development support to team members. Gail has been a nurse prescriber and has served as a supervisor and assessor for pre-registration nursing students. In recognition of her contributions, she was honoured with the Queen’s Nursing Award in 2013 and is also recognised as a QNI Aspiring Leader.

In 2025, after 40 years of service, Gail officially retired from the NHS. She now contributes to nursing education as a Senior Lecturer within a Community Nursing Team. She believes strongly in teaching with compassion, being a positive role model, and encouraging students and colleagues to strive to be the best version of themselves. Balancing clinical practice support with academic teaching has enabled her to remain both relevant and authentic in her work. Her passion for community nursing drives her commitment to helping others recognise the value and uniqueness of this nursing speciality.
She has served on the steering committee for the District and Community Nursing Forum for seven years, actively participating in its work and contributing to numerous projects. These include writing articles, completing interviews, and supporting the previous Chair.

She has greatly valued working with community nurses across the four countries and is committed to continuing to build a strong network of experience within the forum. Her goal is to enhance the voice of community nursing and raise its profile, underscoring the importance of this vital specialism.

Looking ahead, her vision is to grow the forum further, with a particular focus on engaging Internationally Educated Colleagues and professionals from the Social Care sector. She is also passionate about fostering a supportive environment for existing colleagues. She believes that retaining this highly skilled workforce, alongside attracting new talent into community nursing, is essential—and that the forum has a significant and positive role to play in achieving this.

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Sharon Bache

I started my first nursing job in 1983 as a health care assistant in Edinburgh’s main psychiatric hospital and have worked more or less continually in the NHS since then. Currently I am a staff nurse based in Cupar, Fife’s district nursing team, where many of our patients live on the farms and villages of the surrounding countryside. This current setting is an exciting contrast with my first community job in SW London. My diverse nursing roles includes health care assistant, staff nurse in acute medical/ surgical wards, night duty, community staff nurse, district nurse and community matron. I value each of these roles which have made me the practitioner I am today.

My vision is that British nurses are empowered where ever they find themselves to provide excellent nursing care. I believe nurses must work together to protect their professionalism, education, income and employment rights, thus ensuring they can give good proactive care. District and community nurses have a unique set of health skills and opportunities. As a DN & Community Forum steering committee member I hope to be part of safeguarding the present nursing contribution in primary care and ensuring nurses are abreast, if not ahead of the socio-economic health challenges in Britain today.

To look after myself I garden, use contemplation and pursue art/craft projects. These interests compliment my nursing life.

Marysia Graffin

Community Area Manager/Lead Nurse

Since April 2010, Marysia has been a community nurse working within the NHS, working alongside the integrated team to provide a nursing service for patients requiring care in their own homes.

Marysia began her health care career as a care assistant in a nursing home in 1989, working various roles as a domestic then senior care assistant. She worked within this profession, until she received her BSc (Hons) in Adult nursing from the University of Ulster in September 2008. Marysia returned to the University of Ulster in 2013 to complete her specialist practice in district nursing which led onto her current role as district sister.

Marysia is a nurse prescriber and mentors for pre-registration and post-registration students. Marysia was honoured to be awarded the Queen’s Nursing Award in 2016. Marysia completed the QNI leadership programme in 2018, which encouraged Marysia to complete a course as investigating officer within her role.

Marysia commenced a new role in September 2022 as Community Area Manager/Lead Nurse in Magherafelt. Marysia has oversight over integrated teams including District/community nurse and Treatment rooms.

While her main passion is nursing, on her days off she enjoys walking and family time. Marysia would like to continue to develop her role as Community Area Manager/Lead nurse within District and community nursing.

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Marie Rogers

Marie trained at the University of Sheffield, qualifying in 2008. Her early career started in a nursing home in South Yorkshire, but she moved to Cumbria shortly after qualifying to give her young children a lovely, safe environment to grow up and worked here for a nursing home on the shores of Morecambe Bay. Seeking to expand her knowledge and skills she was fortunate to secure a role in the NHS working on a medical ward specialising in respiratory care for the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay. She worked here for 4 years before feeling ready to make her move into community nursing. Her heart had laid with community nursing since her student placement in community back in 2006. After several attempts she secured a position in the Community nursing team in Barrow in Furness in 2012 under Cumbria Foundation Trust. During that time, she has undertaken her CSP with the university of Cumbria and worked in a variety of settings in Cumbria including Windermere, Millom and Barrow.

She became a Queen’s nurse in 2022. A title which she is very proud to hold.

Her interest in the RCN started as a student when attending Congress. Since then she has only missed 3 congress and as her nursing career has developed, so has her insight and interests in the RCN and became a steward in 2016. Her passion for fairness and equality has driven her to be an advocate for community nursing, especially after the care group transferred in 2018 to University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay. Developing the trusts understanding of community services and their wealth of knowledge, she has worked closely with them during her in the trust, focusing on policy and job evaluation as well as the strikes. She managed the picket line at Furness general over 5 days on 3 separate occasions.

She is also the Cumbria Branch chair and in her 4^th year now in that role. She has faced many challenges as a branch and trying to secure good attendance at branch meetings is a struggle up and down the country.

With her knowledge, experience and passion for community nursing, she hopes to make a positive impact within the forum by championing the work that community teams do and having them recognised as the speciality they are.

Irene Zeller

Senior Lecturer in Nursing Education

Irene started her nurse training in 1982 at the Middlesex Hospital and worked in a variety of staffing roles within several London hospitals. Irene decided to organise a day’s annual leave from ITU where she was working at the time and spent this shadowing a district nursing team leader, with the realisation that this was where she wanted to spend the rest of her career.  Irene moved to a community staff nurse post in 1990 before completing her district nursing qualification and working as a district nurse team leader within a socially deprived ward in the Harlow area, leading a team for a busy caseload.   

Irene had various roles within the Essex locality, including being elected as the nurse representative on the executive board for an early adopter of the newly formed Primary Care Groups in Epping. This experience of representing nursing colleagues and ensuring those views were heard at an executive level gave Irene an understanding of the importance of having a voice and speaking up.

During this time, Irene became a practice development facilitator working with many different health professions in the community providing clinical leadership to meet the needs of the local population. She became an assistant director of nursing within a community trust, working at board level and again bringing the voice of nurses to the table.

In 2002, Irene moved to work within education as a lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University and then more latterly changed to work since 2012 at King’s College London. Throughout her time within education, Irene has always advocated for care outside of hospital and during her teaching explores with pre-registration nurses the complexity of care that can take place across a variety of settings. She is enthusiastic about delivering quality education across nursing fields and for post registration education. In 2017, Irene led the development of pre-registration nurses having a more community focused practice education, with more of their placements taking place outside of hospital. This is to demonstrate the importance of newly qualified students starting their careers outside of hospital and valuing the career opportunities that are open to them across a variety of settings.  

Whilst passionate about nursing and education, away from this Irene enjoys her family time and walking their rescue dog.

Irene is now starting her second tenure as a member of the steering committee and is looking forward to widening the chance for the forum members to have their views heard.