Dr Mercia Spare to retire as chief nursing officer next year

Dr Mercia Spare is to retire in March next year as chief nursing officer at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Mercia who has 37 years’ NHS experience, joined #TeamKCHFT as chief nurse in January 2020, following a year’s secondment from NHS Improvement.

She said: “I love being a nurse. I have worked in the NHS longer than I haven’t and I can’t imagine doing anything else.

“But, as 60 beckons, I have decided it’s time for a new challenge and will be handing over the reins in March next year.

“It won’t be goodbye just yet, I have so much pride in KCHFT, so I have agreed to return to work for the trust in a different role.”

Mercia will be using her NHS and nursing experience to focus on clinical development and creating integrated leaders of the future, by taking forward KCHFT’s clinical academy, as director of clinical development.

Her clinical expertise, includes transplantation, coronary care, renal and cardiothoracic nursing and she has delivered a number of senior leadership roles in the NHS, working for both the Department of Health and NHS Improvement.

She said: “I will no longer be a member of the Board or an executive but I will continue to work tirelessly for our KCHFT family and our magnificent patient, clients, service users and their carers.”

Chief Executive Mairead McCormick said: “I’d like to put on record a huge thanks to Mercia for everything she has achieved and I’m delighted that – with her huge wealth of experience – she’s not going too far and can help us build the workforce of the future, as we develop our academy. I think Mercia will be brilliant in driving forward this work, working with colleagues across the system.”

The KCHFT chief nurse officer role will be advertised in January.