Page 92 - Powerlist 2020

NEW Professor Jacqueline
Science, Medicine & Engineering Chief Midwifery Officer, NHS England

2020
Dunkley Bent

Celebrated in the popular press as the Duchess of
Cambridge’s midwife, Professor Jacqueline Dunkley Bent is
now officially the most senior midwife in England.
She took on the newly created role of Chief Midwifery
Officer in April 2019, overseeing improvements in care for
new and expectant mothers and their children.
Jacqueline helped to deliver Prince George and Princess
Charlotte when she was director of midwifery at Imperial
College Healthcare NHS Trust – Kate had her babies at the
Trust’s private Lindo Wing.
Most recently she was head of maternity, children and
young people for NHS England.
She said: “I’m thrilled to be given the huge responsibility
and privilege of serving families and my colleagues as
England’s first Chief Midwifery Officer. Throughout my time
as a midwife and nurse in our NHS, I’ve seen first-hand the
life-changing difference that the care of midwives can make
to children and parents, and as the health service sets out to
deliver an ambitious programme to improve care and safety
for mums-to-be and their babies, I cannot think of a more
Professor Laura Serrant OBE vital, exciting and inspiring responsibility.”

Head of Department and Professor of Community Jacqueline will work on measures set out in the NHS long-
and Public Health Nursing at Manchester term plan, including improving digital access to children’s
Metropolitan University ‘red book’ medical records, enhancing care for critically ill
babies and widening access to physiotherapy for mothers
recovering after labour.
Laura was among a select few nurses picked from all over Jacqueline’s career as a midwife started at Guy’s and
the world to participate in a Global Nurses Policy Leadership St Thomas’ NHS Trust in 2001. She has been director of
programme with the International Council of Nurses in 2017. midwifery and nursing positions for women’s and children’s
Just 26 other nurses were selected for the programme at the services at Imperial College Healthcare Trust and Guy’s & St
end of 2017. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
One of only six black nursing professors out of more
than 250 in the UK, Laura is now Head of Department and
Professor of Community and Public Health Nursing at
Manchester Metropolitan University. She received an OBE
for services to nursing and health policy in the Queen’s
Birthday Honours list in 2018.
Throughout her career, Laura has not shied away from
supporting some of the more disadvantaged people in
society. Beginning her career as a nurse in the early 1990s,
she did outreach work with prostitutes, raised awareness
around HIV and AIDS, and supported the homeless and
those addicted to drugs and alcohol.
She was the Professor of Nursing in the Centre for Health
and Social Care Research at Sheffield Hallam and is chair
of the Chief Nursing Office for England’s BME Strategic
Advisory Group, and an ambassador for the Equality
Challenge Unit for Higher Education.
She has a long list of accolades, including a Fellowship
of the Queens Nursing Institute for her leadership in
community nursing and the 2017 Florence Nightingale
research funding award.
A specialist in areas such as health disparities, diversity
leadership, sexual health and transcultural issues in
health and wellbeing, she has published high-profile papers
on prostate cancer advocacy for black-Caribbean men and
the promotion of sexual health screening programmes, to
name a few.

92 Powerlist 2020