New Nursing Centre named for Dame Elizabeth Anionwu
30 April 2025
The Queen’s Institute for Community Nursing (QICN) has announced that its new centre for professional development will be named after Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, the celebrated nursing leader who is a Vice-President and Fellow of the charity.
The new Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Centre for Professional Development will have a physical presence at the QICN’s new offices at 30 Euston Square in central London. Much of the in-person teaching of QICN programmes for community nurses will take place in the new training room.
The Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Centre for Professional Development will also be a virtual home for the Leadership, CPD and Innovation/Quality Improvement (QI) programmes offered by the QICN, as these are brought together on a redeveloped QICN website.
I am delighted that we are able both to create a new training space in central London specifically for community nurses, and that we are able to honour our Vice President Dame Elizabeth Anionwu in this way. Dame Elizabeth has been a very generous and gracious supporter of the QICN for many years, having presented Queen’s Nurse certificates and badges to many new QNs in recent years, and offered wise counsel to me, the trustees and staff of the QICN.
Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, Chief Executive, the QICN
Left: Dame Elizabeth Anionwu officially launching the centre; Right: QICN Trustees and Staff with Dame Elizabeth AnionwuNew Scholarships
The Trustees of the QICN have also announced that two scholarships will be created for global majority community nurses this year, to enable them to undertake the QICN’s Ambition to Lead course. The scholarships are to be named the Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Scholarships. The scholarships may be extended annually, as the Trustees decide.
Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, the QNI’s Chief Executive commented:
“It has been many years since the QICN last had dedicated premises for community nurses to learn together in developing crucial skills of leadership, quality improvement and innovation in care. Our professional development programmes have gone from strength to strength and this is the next stage for the QICN and our national offer to all nurses working in the community, primary care and social care. In addition, to recognise the opening of the Centre, I am thrilled that the Trustees of the QICN are supporting two Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Scholarships for the ‘Ambition to Lead’ programme for two nurses from the global majority. The announcement of their awards will be made very soon.”
Dame Elizabeth Anionwu commented:
“As a former health visitor and Community Nurse Tutor I am incredibly honoured to have the new Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN) Centre for Professional Development named after me. Education and learning were always so important during my career in providing me with knowledge, practical advice, support and networking opportunities. This definitely enabled me to become more expert and caring in my clinical, teaching, academic and leadership journey.”
ENDS
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