Ruth Bailey, QN - Forum Chair

X (Twitter): @RuthRGNBrighton

What is your Current Role?
Advanced Nurse Practitioner Sexual Health, Primary Care
FSRH Council Nurse Member

What do you enjoy most about your current role?
Being able to make a difference to women, particularly those who are marginalised in society. I thrive on the diversity of my role and enjoy working with women across all ages and backgrounds, discussing choices in contraception, menopause and managing sexual health. I particularly enjoy teaching and undertaking practical procedures like LARC fitting.

What was your best career move?
Taking a year out to complete an MSc in Nursing before I had children.

What inspires and motivates you?
I am motivated by injustice and I am constantly inspired by the power of nursing to touch people’s lives.

What prompted you to join the women’s health forum?
The opportunity to work with like-minded nurses, develop resources, shape policy, campaign and influence policy in Women’s Health.

If you were the Health Secretary and could make one singe change, what would it be?
I would give Nurses and Midwives a realistic and meaningful pay rise that reflected the skills and expertise of our safety- critical profession to address the workforce crises that currently prevents women accessing the care they deserve.

What book should every nurse read?
“Nursing Management of Women’s Health: A guide for Nurse Specialists and Practitioner’s” Edited by Debra Holloway

What would you still like to achieve in your career?
To progress my skills in menopause care and to work with marginalised women overseas.

Where would we find you when you are not working in Women’s Health?
On the beach! I am always energised by a run on the seafront or a dip in the sea.

Emma Ayling

What is your current role?
Gynaecology Matron

What do you enjoy most about your current role?
I love being able to realise improvements for our staff and the services we provide for our women. I like being able to retain my clinical skills and be able to support my areas when they need me.

What was your best career move?
Changing from Neurosciences to Gynaecology early on in my career. It set me on a path that has brought me to where I am today, for which I am very grateful.

What inspires and motivates you?
My patients and my staff – seeing the difference you can make to someone is very rewarding. I am passionate about Gynaecology and in particular, Early Pregnancy care.

What prompted you to join the Women's Health Forum committee?
I had met some of the members through the newly formed Gynaecology Matron network and was inspired to apply. To be able to collaborate with like-minded people, who are just as passionate about Women's Health as I am.

If you were the Health Secretary and could make one single change, what would it be?
To make Women's health just as important as other services. For too long, women's health has been on the back burner and I would like to help make our voices louder and heard, to provide the services that women deserve to have.

What book should every nurse read?
The Promises of Giants by John Amaechi - really inspirational reading that can be applied across so many levels.

What would you still like to achieve in your career?
To achieve my Masters in Gynaecology and develop myself into a blended role as Matron/ANP.

Where would we find you when you are not working in women's health?
At home with my husband and cat, in the garden or sewing. Spending quality time with friends and family.

Charlotte Deakin

Forum Co-Chair

What is your current role?
Lead Nurse at Doncaster Telehub, British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Specialist Nurse in Integrated Sexual Health and Talkline Volunteer at Abortion Talk.

What do you enjoy most about your current role?
I love the fast-moving pace of development in abortion care, and I have also been getting more involved in research which is my passion. I love the face-to-face contact I get with patients when I work at my local sexual health clinic. It is a privilege to support the charity Abortion Talk, which is destigmatising abortion, one conversation at a time.

What was your best career move?
Leaving ward nursing and training to be a specialist nurse in Sexual Health as I was able to learn a diverse and transferrable skill set.

What inspires and motivates you?
I am motivated to improve care for diverse populations and communities, and for all patients, through quality improvement and research. We have made fantastic progress but there is still work to be done.

What prompted you to join the Women's Health Forum committee?
I was excited to join the forum committee to gain an understanding of how things work within the wider healthcare landscape and learn from other committee members as we have an enviable range of expertise.

If you were the Health Secretary and could make one single change, what would it be?
Make Health Inequalities training mandatory for everyone who works in health and social care.

What book should every nurse read?
Any dystopian fiction focusing on women, such as The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Power by Naomi Alderman, or Vox by Christina Dalcher.

What would you still like to achieve in your career?
I would like to continue contributing to abortion research which is an under-researched area. I also want to focus on utilising the role of nurses and midwives in abortion care, and see patients benefit from decriminalisation of abortion in the UK.

Where would we find you when you are not working in women's health?
Either gardening, spending time with family and friends, or curled up with a book and my little dog Phoebe.

Tori Heppell

What is your current role?
I am an early pregnancy Nurse Specialist & Sonographer, the manager of an Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit and Trust Clinical Lead for early pregnancy.

What do you enjoy most about your current role?
I have enjoyed working in women’s health in various roles for nearly 25 years. In my current role I have the benefit of being able to lead a fabulous team & community based service whilst continuing to provide hands on care to women.

What was your best career move?
Carrying out a PG Cert in diagnostic ultrasound. This enabled me to be able to care for women throughout their whole journey through the EPAU.

What inspires and motivates you?
The way all of the nurses in my team have developed their knowledge & skills to change & improve services for patients. 

What prompted you to join the women’s health forum committee?
Seeing the great work the forum do for women and nurses from afar motivated me to want to become part of it. I am very excited to start working with a group of likeminded nurses who are also passionate about women’s health & nursing. 

If you were the health secretary and could make one single change what would it be?
Fair pay. This would in turn help to make many of the other changes needed. 

What book should every nurse read?
Oxford Handbook of Women’s Health Nursing.

What would you still like to achieve in your career?
I would like to complete a MSc in Women’s Health & become a Nurse Consultant one day.

Where would we find you when you are not working in women’s health?
Spending time with my husband, 2 daughters & dogs…….. preferably on a beach somewhere!

Esther Kuria

What is your current role?
Interim Lead CNS Gynae-oncology.

What was your best career move?
Taking the leap (26 years ago) to move to the UK to advance my nursing career.

What inspires and motivates you?
Women’s lives globally- their resilience, this motivates me to do my best for women’s health. 

What prompted you to join the women’s health forum?
The opportunity to learn and be a resource in women’s health.

If you were the Health Secretary and could make one singe change, what would it be?
I would listen to women.

What book should every nurse read?
Being mortal by Atul Gawande - it’s about having a meaningful and purposeful life regardless of what life throws at you.

What would you still like to achieve in your career?
Develop and run a women’s health education podcast, and a nurse consultant-gynaecology post.

Where would we find you when you are not working in women’s health?
Travelling and spending quality time with family.

Michael Nevill

What is your current role?
Clinical Director at the National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service (NUPAS)

What do you enjoy most about your current role?
I love the fact that I am in a position where I can support both our staff and our clients. As the clinical lead at NUPAS I ensure that their voice is heard right throughout the organisation. Through policy and audit writing I also help to ensure that our clients get the best possible care in a supportive environment.

What was your best career move?
A few years ago, I was in a job that I really didn’t enjoy and therefore my employers were not getting the best out of me, and so I decided that I had to go. I could have stayed, however the move I made was the best thing I could have done; therefore, I would advise anyone not to stay in a role they don’t enjoy. Nursing is such an amazing career, you can easily change your pathway.

What inspires and motivates you?
I have always believed that patients should receive the care that you would want for yourself or your loved ones. I am therefore motivated to ensure that we deliver the best care possible.

What prompted you to join the Women's Health Forum committee?
The opportunity to network with like-minded colleagues and shape national policy.

If you were the Health Secretary and could make one single change, what would it be?
Legislation on minimum staffing levels.

What book should every nurse read?
If you’re reading this then you should read Nursing Management of Women’s Health edited by D.Holloway.

What would you still like to achieve in your career?
I would like to undertake some work in a developing country, and possibly a PhD.

Where would we find you when you are not working in women's health?
Usually in the kitchen baking, and while the cake is baking, I’ll be found in the garden.

Debra Holloway, FRCN - Forum link support

What is your current role?
retired was a Nurse Consultant Gynaecology
Menopause specialist

What do you enjoy most about your current role?
undertaking projects and support practitioner with menopause work

What was your best career move?
Nurse consultant role.

What inspires and motivates you?
Improving women's health specifically menstruation issues and menopause. ability to mentor and support nurses working in Womens health roles

What prompted you to join the Women's Health Forum Committee?
Co-opted onto a project a long time ago, really enjoyed the working group and then joined a sub group and then encouraged to join the steering group.

If you were the Health Secretary and could make one single change, what would it be?
Free prescriptions for women with POI.

What book should every nurse read?
Women's health nursing Oxford Handbook by myself.

What would you still like to achieve in your career?
Development of a trainee nurse consultant.

Where would we find you when you are not working in women's health?
Walking in London or Devon, eating out.

Dr Wendy Norton - Forum link support

RCN Fellow

What is your current role?
Researcher

What do you enjoy most about your current role?
My research focuses on themes at the intersection of women's health, reproduction, and equality and diversity. I enjoy listening to service users’ experiences of healthcare and using this information to advance knowledge and care delivery.

What was your best career move?
Moving from general gynaecology into the more specialised field of fertility, and being able to combine clinical practice and research in this area.

What inspires and motivates you?
Listening to the voices of patients and translating these findings and knowledge into clinical practice, to impact policies and practice guidance, and to enhance care and outcomes for service users.

What prompted you to join the women’s health forum?
I am passionate about promoting women’s health and wanted to contribute to, and develop initiatives, that influence practice and improve women’s health care provision

If you were the Health Secretary and could make one single change, what would it be?
To address the inequalities and structural determinants that often reinforce stigma and taboo about women’s health issues such as menstruation and menopause, and may restrict women’s access to health services

What book should every nurse read?
Nursing Management of Women’s Health: A Guide for Nurse Specialists and Practitioners by Debra Holloway

What would you still like to achieve in your career?
More research focussing on the experiences of marginalised patient groups within healthcare settings to enable us to capture previously unheard voices in research, and provide evidence for shaping the delivery of high-quality patient care.

Where would we find you when you are not working in women’s health?
I love to travel and learn more about different cultures, so sightseeing somewhere in the world.