News

Chief nurse recognised in Queen’s New Year Honours List 2021

Catherine Morgan, chief nurse for the East of England for NHS England and NHS Improvement, has been appointed an OBE for services to Nursing in the Queen’s New Year Honours list for 2021.

Formerly chief nurse for East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Catherine joined NHS England and NHS Improvement as Chief Nurse in March 2020, at the beginning of the region’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

With 28 years of nursing experience under her belt, Catherine has mostly worked in the eastern region and London, including in NHS trusts in Colchester, King’s Lynn, Chelmsford and Ipswich, predominantly in nursing leadership roles supporting trusts with clinical improvement. She also specialised for nine years as a consultant nurse in renal medicine.

On hearing she had been appointed an OBE Catherine was astonished, and said she couldn’t have done it without the amazing nurses and health professionals she has worked alongside:

“The one thing about nursing is it is about people – it is about a true team, of nursing colleagues, multi-professional health care workers and specialists, patients and their families.

“This year, more than ever before, I have been overwhelmed by the strength and positive attitude of my colleagues across the NHS. I have seen people who, however challenged and tired from this difficult year, come together to do the right thing for patients – it’s just the nature of the job. I am proud to work with them all, and this OBE is a recognition of them far more than it is me.”