Gain insight into research finds about the purpose and stature of the CNIO role and how this evolved with digital maturity. Hear how the Digital Health Leadership programme is supporting and developing digital maternity leader and how to empower digital nurses with the Florence Nightingale Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme.
Chair: Simon Noel
CNIO, Oxford University Hospitals NHS FT
Simon has worked with clinical informatics for the past 20 years and leads a team of informatics nurses, working collaboratively with clinical, technical and organisational services. Simon is a member of the CNIO advisory panel for Digital Health, he is also on the Faculty of Clinical Informatics working groups for Professionalism, the Office of the CCIO, the FCI Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Panel, and contributed toward the What Good Looks Like Nursing Guidance, participating in the launch at Rewired in 2022.
Becky Thomas
leadership development facilitator, Florence Nightingale Foundation
Becky Thomas is a recognised nurse leader and she joins FNF as a Leadership Development Facilitator.
You might know her as the host and founder of the Leadership Log Podcast, the creator of #High5Friday, and an active Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) Champion and Alumni Member.
A Proud Nurse. Passionate about making a difference. Disruptor. Interested in leadership, human factors, safety science, behaviour and culture, entrepreneurship and digital.
Becky has been studying Psychological Safety and is passionate about championing and supporting building and maintaining psychological safety in teams across the professions.
A creative, innovative, and enthusiastic individual with a great passion for nursing and is motivated to improve standards of dignity and care for patients and promote the professional identity of nursing.
Having 28 years of experience within a wide variety of services, has provided her with comprehensive, highly specialised, and detailed professional knowledge.
Described as having an authentic appreciation of the needs and experiences of staff delivering direct care, with high energy levels and enthusiasm for leadership and quality improvement which is extremely motivating for the staff she engages with. She has the insight to know that she can always learn and enjoys gaining knowledge and sharing best practice.
A Self-confessed geek. Apple Fan Girl. Vinyl Junkie. Book Nerd. Mountain Biker and Dog lover.
She is also, generally, very active on twitter @CuriousBecks
Jacqueline Davis
CNIO, System C Healthcare
Jacqueline has been a nurse for 38 years, primarily working in the NHS but also spending some time overseas. She has held a variety of nursing roles including education, advanced practice, and operational roles. Her last two NHS roles were as head of nursing for surgery and surgical specialties, then head of nursing for practice and professional development.
After investigating a serious incident, Jacqueline recognised the future potential of digital technology in healthcare and has dedicated the last nine years to working in this space. She supports NHS organisations in implementing and optimising clinical digital technology to improve clinician’s lives and patient outcomes, particularly focusing on the evolving professional specialty of clinical digital leadership.
Jacqueline collaborated with the Florence Nightingale Foundation to develop the Aspiring Digital Leadership Programme, aimed at empowering individuals entering leadership roles in the NHS through the digital agenda.
Hayley Grafton
CNIO, University of Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust
Hayley Grafton is a passionate digital nurse leader, currently fulfilling the position of Chief Nursing Information Officer (CNIO) at the University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL). Joining UHL from The Royal Marsden Hospital, where she was the CNIO for the implementation of an enterprise electronic patient record. With over two decades of experience, Hayley specialised in intensive care nursing initially before moving into the digital health field. Hayley was a successful candidate of Cohort 3 of the NHS Digital Academy, Digital Health Leadership programme and is Vice Chair of the Digital Health CNIO Advisory Panel. Hayley has a keen interest in harnessing the power of healthcare technologies to improve the experiences and outcomes of patients.
Jules Gudgeon
national digital midwife lead for maternity, NHS England
With over 30 years of midwifery experience, Jules Gudgeon is a key player in advancing digital technology in maternity care, post the 2015 National Maternity Review by Baroness Cumberlege.
Leading roles in the NHS Digital Maternity Programme and the creation of the award-winning Digital Midwives Expert Reference Group, now the Digital Maternity Leaders community, showcases her commitment to collaborative efforts in the digital maternity landscape. As the National Chief Midwifery Information Officer at NHS England, she was a 2023 HSJ Clinical Leader of the Year Award finalist.
In 2024, Jules persists in advocating for digital leadership and addressing the maternity digital divide with #FixTheDigitalDivide #DigitalMaternity.
Juliette van Wessem
head of programmes, digital health leadership, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London
Becky Thomas, Hayley Grafton, Jacqueline Davis, Jules Gudgeon, Juliette van Wessem
