Karen Bonner, MBE, has been appointed as the Regional Chief Nurse for London, NHS London announced today. Karen has been a nurse for 30 years and has extensive experience working in a number of large complex organisations including Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, Barts Healthcare, Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. She is currently Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust’s Chief Nurse.

Karen is also a trustee at Helpforce, which seeks to boost volunteering in health and social care and as a volunteer herself, Karen works with Prostate Cancer UK to educate and raise awareness of the disease.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the NHS, Nursing Times recognised Karen as one of the 75 nurses who have positively shaped the NHS over the past 75 years.  She was recognised by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) in 2021 and 2022 as one of the 50 most influential Black, Asian and minority ethnic people in health and one of the top 10 in 2023.

Karen will take over from Jane Clegg, MBE, who is retiring from full time work at the end of the year after a 40 year career in nursing and health visiting.

Karen Bonner said:

“I live in London and was born in London – the chance to lead vital work to improve the health of the millions of people who live and work in this city is incredibly motivating. While the opportunities ahead of us to do this are huge, I’m also clear that this new role is an opportunity to really focus on the nursing and midwifery profession. I look forward to working with a broad range of partners and others across London to improve care, continue to develop our profession and champion the wonderful nurses, midwives and many other professionals in London.”

Caroline Clarke, Regional Director for NHS London said:

“We are thrilled to welcome Karen and know that her experience, focus on patients and collaborative approach will offer strong nursing leadership for the capital. Our vision is that London is the best global city in which to receive health and care services. I’m looking forward to working with Karen to make further progress on the many opportunities ahead of us for London’s health system, as well as to tackle the challenges we face.

“I also want to take this opportunity to thank Jane Clegg for the expertise and passion she has brought to this role, working tirelessly to improve the health and healthcare of Londoners, including during the Covid pandemic.”

Karen will take up her new post at the end of the calendar year. The role leads NHS London’s nursing directorate and a number of pan-London programmes including the Learning Disabilities and Autism programme and the Maternity and Babies, Children and Young People programme.