Audrey Emerton first entered nursing in 1953 and for the next 20 years engaged in practice and managerial roles, gaining experience of health and care delivery. In 1973, she became Regional Nursing Officer and President of the Hospital Matrons Association. These appointments illustrate her strong leadership skills and lifelong willingness to champion nursing as a key player in health care. In the 1980s, she led new services for people with learning disabilities, as Darenth Park Hospital was closed down as part of the Care in the Community reforms. She helped resettle almost a thousand people in small group homes or hostels.

She was elected Deputy President of the RCN and was also appointed Chair of the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting. Further leadership roles included Chair of the UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting and lay member of the General Medical Council. A long-standing volunteer for St John’s Ambulance, she proudly served as Chief and Commander until 2002.

She received a Life Peerage in 1997 and entered the House of Lords as Baroness Emerton of Tunbridge Wells and of Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. As a cross bencher, she was involved in several committees including the Lords’ Veterans Group, The Dying Well Group, and the Science and Technology Committee. After over 20 years service, she retired from the House of Lords in 2019. 

With so many achievements, Audrey always remained approachable, which as the current RCN Deputy President, Professor Alison Leary knows well:
  
"I was fortunate to know Audrey for almost 20 years. Our paths crossed many times much to my delight. She was an advocate for nursing and her support on issues such as, safe staffing and person-centred care was unwavering. She lobbied hard when the Lansley reforms meant that senior nurses were no longer mandatory on commissioning or NHS boards, successfully opposing the change which would have meant no nursing voice at senior leadership levels. I recall doing some research on the 2009 Coroner and Justice Bill amendments. She invited me to sit "below the bar" in the Lord’s chamber and I was able to see her in action – an eloquent speaker and a lesson on impact through brevity. Audrey taught me a lot about framing arguments and the political (with a big and small P) nature of decisions. I also knew her through the Order of St John. She was passionate about St John Ambulance, and particularly its volunteers – she valued and respected them and they in return valued her. 

Baroness Emerton was not only kind and generous with her time and expertise, but as a person. She was the epitome of public service and lived by the ethos of the Order of St John to which she dedicated over seventy years of her life: Pro Fide, Pro Utilitate Hominum – for the Faith and in the Service of Humanity. She will be remembered by all those who knew her, and by those whose lives she touched, with great fondness and gratitude."

Professor Daniel Kelly OBE PhD FRCN
Emeritus Professor, Cardiff University, & Convenor of RCN Fellows

Professor Alison Leary MBE PhD FRCN 
Professor of Healthcare & Workforce Modelling, London South bank University & RCN Fellow