Leading Equitable Care – Conference 2025 Summary

The Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN) has concluded its 2025 national conference, Leading Equitable Care — a vibrant three-day online event celebrating leadership, equity, and innovation in community nursing.

Bringing together hundreds of professionals, educators, and researchers, the conference explored how nurses are leading change to make health and care more equitable for people and communities across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Across all three days, the message was clear: equity, leadership, and innovation must underpin the future of community nursing.

Day 1 – Leadership in Community Settings

Chief Executive Steph Lawrence opened the event, urging nurses to “lead from where they are” to create a fairer health system. Sponsored by Hallam Medical, the first day focused on leadership across diverse community settings.

Lisa Locker, Chief Nurse at Hallam Medical, discussed new models of workforce leadership. Ashleigh Fox RNLD, Transforming Care Director at Catalyst Group Care, challenged traditional models of care, while Caron Sanders-Crook explored the often unseen power of social care nursing in integrated systems.

Parallel sessions brought together Dr Cate Wood, Alexandra James, Mary Lewis, and Dr Edwin Chamanga to examine leadership in the community, alongside Dr Amanda Young, Dr Fiona Nolan, Walter Chikanya, and Rachel Viggars, who explored leadership in specialist fields.

The afternoon sessions included Professor Calvin Moorley MBE, speaking on diversity and social justice in leadership; Dr Emma Wadey FQICN, reflecting on leadership across care boundaries; and Sarah Hall, sharing insights into navigating the challenges of General Practice Nurse (GPN) leadership.

Day 2 – Poverty and Inequalities

Chaired by John Unsworth OBE, Chair of Council at The QICN, the second day explored how poverty and social inequality shape community nursing practice.

Dr Richard Claxton, the new Chief Executive of The National Garden Scheme, opened with an overview of the QICN–NGS partnership since 1927 and its vital impact on community nursing, health and wellbeing. A general practitioner until his recent appointment at the National Garden Scheme, Dr Claxton presented clear and relatable insights about public health since the pandemic, and the role of primary care in improving individual and population health.

Professor Matthew Johnson from Northumbria University examined the policy implications of tackling poverty, followed by Fatima Khan-Shah, Inclusivity Champion at West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, who highlighted the hidden costs of caring for others.

Rebecca Shearer RN discussed building partnerships to improve access to primary care services and reduce health inequalities, Donna-Marie Chapman delivered an inspirational talk on resilience and her experience running a street clinic, and finally Catherine McArevey, a registered nurse and Mayor of Dacorum, joined Cath Moir Slater to explore nursing’s response to health inequalities.

The day’s sessions underlined that community nurses are not just delivering care — they are driving social justice.

Day 3 – Community Nursing and Research

The final day, chaired by Dr Ben Bowers FQICN, focused on how research and innovation are shaping the future of community nursing.

Dr Helen Anderson from the University of York presented the GenRet Study, a major national project exploring the retention of nurses in general practice, while Dr Billy Palmer, Director of Research at the RCN, examined the recent Decline of District Nursing in England and suggested methods to arrest and reverse this decline.

In collaboration with Joodi Mourhli, Dr Bowers also presented recent research on the contributions of community-based nurses to end-of-life care.

Parallel sessions then showcased cutting-edge practice:

• Innovative placements and social models of care for lower limb conditions — with Helen Marshall, Debra Shrewsbury, Annalea Holland, Clare Mechen, and Laura Inglis.
• Digital tools, child health, and young carers — chaired by Fiona Rogers, featuring Amanda Jackson, Susannah Hollick, and Carly Ellicott.

Later, Professor Sarah Redsell from the University of Nottingham presented on the co-design of digital tools to support infant feeding behaviours, and Siobhan Melia, National Adviser for Community Health Services and chief executive of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, closed with a compelling keynote on Delivering the Left Shift – What Next?

Thank you to our Partners

Supported by Hallam Medical, The National Garden Scheme and RL Datix, the QICN Conference 2025 reinforced the Institute’s mission to empower community nurses to lead, innovate, and improve health outcomes across the UK.

ENDS

Notes

Delegates are able to access recordings of the conference sessions for four weeks, via the VFairs platform. Staff of QICN Member Organisations can also access the recordings, free of charge. To see all speakers and their short biographies, see: https://qicnannualconference2025.vfairs.com/