Alison McCourt appointed as Nuffield Health's new Clinical Services Director

Alison is joining us in August after a distinguished career in the British Army (joining as a nurse in 1988) and as part of the senior NHS England and Improvement team responding to the COVID pandemic, her achievements include:

• Deployed to Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Sierra Leone as a British Army nurse
• Commanded 22 Field Hospital (the UK's military hospital at high readiness to be deployed anywhere in the world) and awarded an OBE for her role to combat the Ebola crisis in October 2014 in Sierra Leone
• Promoted to Colonel and the Head of Health Strategy in December 2015, with responsibility for all healthcare governance in the British Army
• Appointed as Chief Nursing Officer in 2018 and awarded a CBE for her leadership of military nursing
• Appointed Commander Medical for 3 (UK) Division with technical command of all medical facilities and delivery and planning of healthcare for the 30,000 strong Division worldwide 
• As part of this British Army role as Commander Medical for 3 (UK) Division, deployed to support NHS England and Improvement to plan and establish the Nightingale Hospitals in response to COVID-19 pandemic
• Remained at NHS England and Improvement for a further year as the Deputy Chief Operating Officer, reporting directly to current NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard throughout the first 18 months of the pandemic
• First female and nurse to be appointed as Commander 2nd Medical Brigade – becoming a Brigadier – after leaving NHS England and Improvement secondment on promotion to this role 
• Awarded the Outstanding Contribution award at the 2021 Women in Defence Awards
• Returned to NHS England and Improvement for four weeks over Christmas and New Year to lead a small group of military planners tasked to work alongside the COVID vaccine delivery taskforce to accelerate the COVID booster vaccination programme.  This work resulted in all eligible adults in UK being offered a booster jab before the 31 January 2021

“I’m excited to be joining the Nuffield Health team,” says Alison. “To me, Nuffield Health is an organisation which exemplifies best practice in delivering exceptional clinical care and meeting unmet health needs through its charitable aims. The passion of its senior leaders and committed workforce aligns to my personal and professional ethos.”

Our Chief Quality & Operating Officer, Caroline Smith, believes Alison’s experience will be vital to the Charity as the pandemic and this year evolves: “Alison’s appointment is fantastic news for the Charity. She brings with her extensive knowledge and experience gained through her distinguished career as a senior clinician in the military.” 

“Her leadership skills, demonstrated by transforming nursing in the British Army and in her strategic role at NHS England and Improvement, will be vital as Nuffield Health’s clinical teams emerge from the pandemic and respond to the evolving healthcare needs of our local communities. Alison’s inclusive style of leadership and experience across different sectors and continents will help us to achieve our aim of providing an inclusive and learning culture that supports our nurses, clinicians and hospital teams to ensure we continue to deliver the highest quality outcomes and best experience to the people we care for.” she adds.

Last updated Thursday 17 February 2022

First published on Thursday 17 February 2022