New ICNO Director to Join the QICN
6 March 2026
The QICN is a delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Barbara Stilwell as Director of the International Community Nursing Observatory (ICNO) as Professor Alison Leary MBE steps down from the role after six years.
The ICNO analyses data and trends in the community nursing workforce in greater depth, to aid understanding of the challenges faced by services. Over the years the ICNO has produced many important reports including District Nursing Today, the Experience of Care Home Staff During Covid-19, Nursing in the Digital Age, the ARRS Workforce Impact Survey and the Trap Door Report.
Professor Leary will step down on 31 March 2026. Alison said of her time at the QICN:
Over the last 6 years it has been my privilege to work with the QICN helping to tell the important but often unseen stories of community nursing. I really feel our efforts have helped provide a bedrock of data from which can now grow deeper understanding and policy influence on these vital services.
Dr Barbara Stilwell will commence her new role as Director of the ICNO on 1 April 2026. Barbara is a nurse, researcher and academic, and has held various high-level positions including at the World Health Organisation and as director of the Nursing Now Global campaign. She is a Fellow of the QICN.
On her appointment, Barbara said:
It is an enormous honour to be picking up the baton from Professor Leary, for whom I have always had the greatest admiration. My goal is to work with others at QICN, and in the broader community nursing community, to lead critical conversations about making community nursing more resilient.
Community nurses are everywhere - from homes to clinics to shops to schools to prisons. We need to be able to document which nurse is where and doing what job - and the ICNO is essential to gathering and using this information. This is the evidence that underpins funding requirements for community nurses, and it must be heard at the highest levels.
I am thrilled to have this opportunity to influence national nursing policy - and to work with colleagues globally so that the ICNO contributes to what we know about the state of the world's community nursing.
QICN Chief Executive Steph Lawrence MBE said:
We are indebted to the support and dedication Alison has given to the QICN over the last six years and wish her all the best for the future. She will be greatly missed by the team and our Queen’s Nurses. We are delighted that Barbara has agreed to come and work with the QICN and are excited to start this new phase for the ICNO.
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