Nursing trailblazers appointed Visiting Professors at University

Two senior nursing staff, both considered trailblazers of their profession, have been appointed Visiting Professors of Nursing at the University of Derby.

Professor Cathy Winfield MBE, Chief Nursing Officer for the Integrated Care Board in South Yorkshire, and Professor Krishna Kallianpur, Chief Nurse at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, have been appointed to the positions in recognition of the impact of their work in the field of nursing and for their partnership working with the University.

Professor Cathy Winfield MBE (picture below left) said: “I am so delighted to have been appointed as a Visiting Professor at the University of Derby.

“As a local girl who has grown up and been educated in Southern Derbyshire, and first generation in my family to be get a university education much later in my life, it’s an absolute honour to be recognised and have the opportunity to work more closely with and support the University of Derby, and to inspire the future workforce.

“It’s so important that we do everything we can to grow the next generation of nurses and allow them to flourish. Having spent a large part of my career working in Derby I am pleased I will have the opportunity to play a part in shaping the future of nursing here.”

Professor Krishna Kallianpur (picture below right) said: “I am honoured to be appointed as a Visiting Professor of the University of Derby. I started work more than 30 years ago in the NHS and have worked across the county for most of that time. I have always worked in partnership with the University of Derby and in recent times this involved being the Derbyshire lead for the introduction of the Nursing Associate role.

“This partnership of working alongside our university colleagues has fostered a more strategic vision for improvement and has seen us valuing our future workforce’s needs and supporting their aspirations. I can only see this ongoing relationship going from strength to strength.”

Cathy recently became Chief Nursing Officer for the Integrated Care Board in South Yorkshire after leaving her role as Executive Chief Nurse at UHDB, formerly at Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where she spent 13 years of her career. She became the Director of Patient Experience and Chief Nurse at Derby Teaching Hospitals in May 2013, having joined the Trust as Deputy Director of Patient Experience and Chief Nurse in August 2009. She qualified as a Registered General Nurse in 1993 from Bloomsbury and Islington School of Nursing and Midwifery in London, before going on to specialise as a Haemato-oncology nurse, working at the Middlesex Hospital on the first Teenage Cancer Trust Unit in the UK. Cathy is currently one of three Executive Nurse Fellows supporting Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England.

Krishna joined the Trust and its Board of Directors in October 2020 from the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, where she was first Deputy and then Interim Chief Nurse. An NHS career spanning more than thirty years, she started out as a staff nurse in 1987, developing her nursing and senior leadership career to Executive Director level in a range of roles in the county’s hospitals, including at the former Derby City Hospital, Queens Hospital in Burton and at Royal Derby Hospital.

Dr Denise Baker, Pro Vice-Chancellor Dean of the College of Health, Psychology and Social Care at the University of Derby, said: “We are delighted to welcome Cathy and Krishna as Visiting Professors of Nursing. Both have made a significant impact in the field of nursing throughout their careers and have been influential in supporting the University, College staff and our students, directly and indirectly, so it is fantastic that we will all continue to benefit from their association with us.

“We look forward to working with them and establishing even closer working relationships.”

Find out more information about studying Nursing at the University of Derby.