Carol Kefford awarded OBE for Services to Nursing in New Years Honours 2023

During her time at HCA Healthcare UK, and at Nuffield Trust, where she was Clinical Director and Chief Nurse between 2014 and 2021, Carol achieved the following:

• Since joining HCA Healthcare UK, Carol has led a team of 10 Chief Nursing Officers, 1,700 nursing professionals and nearly 1,000 allied health professionals (AHPs) across HCA’s network of hospitals, outpatient centres and specialist clinics. Carol leads HCA’s nursing and AHP strategy.
• During the first year of the pandemic, HCA Healthcare UK treated over 14,000 time-critical, complex NHS patients. HCA also made available over 800 beds, 38 theatres and 1,600 nurses and healthcare professionals to the NHS, as well as providing hundreds of pieces of vital equipment, including ventilators, anaesthetic machines and haemofiltration units to NHS partners to support their intensive care capacity.
• At Nuffield Health, Carol led the clinical response their network of hospitals across the UK who have treated over 500,000 NHS patients and provided staff, facilities, and equipment to NHS trusts across the UK. 
• She redefined Nuffield Health’s quality framework and our organisational understanding of evolving clinical excellence. Under her tenure as Clinical Director, Nuffield Health has introduced a range of training initiatives that have facilitated individual progression and achievement and supported Nuffield Health’s workforce goals. This activity in turn has contributed towards the broader workforce economy with increased numbers of skilled clinical workers (many of whom go on to leave and take up posts in the NHS, in the military or across the independent hospital sector).
• Carol introduced the ‘Confident Start’ programme in 2016. This preceptorship programme draws on a vast range of theory and skills to help individual’s develop clinical skills and confidence. It was deemed ‘good practice’ and successfully accredited by the Royal College of Nursing in 2018 and most recently was awarded ‘Preceptorship Programme of the Year’ by the Nursing Times Workforce Awards in both 2021 and 2020.

In addition to her role at HCA Healthcare UK, Carol currently serves as Colonel Commandant of Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (representing around 4000 serving and veteran army nurses), an honorary appointment. In this role, she is an advisor to the Chief Nursing Officer (Army) and is a Trustee of the Regimental charity, The QARANC Association. 

Carol is also a Florence Nightingale Foundation Senior Leadership Scholar and now follows her passion for developing future nurse leaders as a mentor for The Foundation and supporting the leadership team.

Carol said: "I am truly humbled to be awarded an OBE. I have loved being a nurse and nursing leader in the military, NHS and across the independent hospital sector. It was a particular pleasure to work so closely with our NHS colleagues throughout the pandemic. I’m lucky to have worked with so many talented nurses, clinicians and healthcare leaders who have guided, mentored and supported me so that I could give my best to our patients and the profession that has given me so much."