Dr Nicola Ryley appointed interim director of nursing
The Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Nicola Ryley as interim director of nursing.
Nicola joined the Trust this week from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in South Wales, where she had been assistant director of nursing for five years.
Nicola was responsible for the leadership and professional regulation of over 6,000 nursing and allied staff at the Health Board, one of the largest and most complex integrated NHS organisations in the UK.
She has held senior clinical, operational and leadership roles across a range of NHS organisations that both provide and commission healthcare for adults and children, with extensive experience of acute, community, mental health, learning disability, primary care and prison service sectors.
Nicola holds nursing registrations for both adults and children, honorary senior lecturer roles with two universities, has earned a doctorate in clinical leadership and has been a board member of professional and charitable organisations.
She has also advised the Chief Nursing Officer for Wales on a range of professional issues and was appointed by the Welsh Government Minister for Health and Social Care to boards advising on professional regulation and information governance.
Nicola previously held the positions of head of nursing and operational performance at Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust and divisional nurse at Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, with responsibility in the areas of surgery, emergency medicine, critical care and dentistry.
She later undertook the role of divisional nurse spanning both scheduled and unscheduled care at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
More recently, Nicola led the design and implementation of the largest pilot project in the UK in respect of nursing revalidation.
Nicola’s interim appointment in Northern Devon is for 18 months.
She replaces Debbie Bennion, who recently joined Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board as a unit nurse director at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.
Dr Alison Diamond, chief executive, said: “The position of director of nursing is a pivotal one for any Trust and in Nicola I’m sure we have appointed the right person to oversee the safe, effective and sustainable delivery of services to our patients over the coming months.
“Nicola has a wide range of clinical, operational and leadership experience and I have no doubt she will be a valuable addition to the executive team.”
