WALES' new Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) has been confirmed as Sue Tranka, who will take up the role this summer.

Her appointment follows the retirement of Dr Jean White who held the CNO role for ten years.

Ms Tranka is currently deputy chief nursing officer for patient safety and innovation at NHS England and Improvement. She will be the first Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) chief nursing officer in the UK.

Ms Tranka has more than 29 years of experience in nursing and has spent the last 22 years working in the NHS with her career spanning both operational and clinical leadership roles.

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Training as a midwife, registered general nurse, mental health and community nurse, she has considerable international experience and brings a wealth of expertise in critical care nursing from across the globe.

On her appointment, Ms Tranka said: “I am honoured and privileged to be taking up the role of the Chief Nursing Officer for Wales.

"It is exciting to be joining the team in Wales as we look to the future and build on the learning from the past year.

“Ongoing support for nursing and midwifery colleagues has never been more important than right now, and I look forward to meeting, listening and talking with teams as we reflect on the incredible response from the workforce to this unprecedented global health threat.”

NHS Wales chief executive, Andrew Goodall, said: “I look forward to working with Sue in her new role and to support her leadership of the nursing profession in Wales.

"Sue joins us following one of the biggest challenges the NHS has ever faced and at a time when we need to reset the NHS following the pandemic response.

"Sue’s extensive knowledge will help support the nursing and midwifery teams across Wales as we look to the future.”