Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) is pleased to announce the appointment of the Trust’s new permanent Chief Nursing Officer.
Kevin Parker-Evans, who has held the position of Interim Chief Nurse at WWL since January 2024, will assume this new role with immediate effect.
With a 23-year-career as a registered adult nurse, Kevin began his journey to Chief Nursing Officer with a work experience placement as a Housekeeper at a Shropshire Hospital, becoming a Health Care Assistant (HCA) before his nurse training commenced in March 2000 at Staffordshire University.
Before joining WWL as Interim Chief Nurse, Kevin held the position of Deputy Chief Nurse for over three years at Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust. Kevin has both clinical and leadership experience of acute medicine, emergency care and operational leadership and management. Kevin completed an MBA in leadership, becoming a chartered manager in 2023 studying through an apprenticeship senior leader’s degree programme. He is a stakeholder on the Chief Nursing Officers (England) Staff Health and Wellbeing reference group and has in the past held an honorary contract with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as a clinical advisor.
With this new role, Kevin says his priority is helping WWL become a flagship organisation for the delivery of excellent care, putting patients and their carers at the centre of their care.
Kevin said: “Personalised care and us meeting the differing needs for our patients matters to me, the smallest things make the biggest difference when we are at our most vulnerable and so I want adjustments that our patients need to make to access healthcare be business as usual for us.
“Having been the Interim Chief Nurse since January 2024, I have seen our Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) deliver amazing care, go above and beyond and support each other in times of pressure, and I am very proud to be WWL’s new Chief Nursing Officer.”
Nursing holds a special place within Kevin’s family. His husband, Tom is a Safeguarding Lead for the NHS within Greater Manchester and both Kevin’s brother and sister-in-law are also nurses.
Kevin added that he is also keen to develop the NHS workforce of the future within the Wigan Borough saying: “I’m keen to work with our University partners to develop new and exciting roles to support our workforce with a new skill set. I’m also keen to support working with our local schools and colleges to further support careers opportunities, open days and skills drills at WWL.”
WWL Chief Executive, Mary Fleming commented: “On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to be able to confirm the appointment of Kevin as WWL’s new Chief Nursing Officer.
“Kevin has shown to be a vital new addition to the Trust since January this year and having such a highly skilled and compassionate leader at WWL, who has such dedication and passion for nursing, is wonderful news for both the Trust and the community we serve.
“I look forward to continuing to work with Kevin, nurturing our current workforce and developing the Nursing, Midwifery and AHP workforce of the future.”