Caroline Bates to join #TeamKCHFT as chief nursing officer

Caroline Bates has been appointed as Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust’s (KCHFT) new chief nursing officer and will join the team at the end of June.

Having worked as a nurse for more than 20 years, the mum-of-three from Sittingbourne has held a range of senior nursing roles across the NHS.

She has worked extensively in acute care and is currently divisional director of nursing for medicine, cancer and emergency care at Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, which includes therapies and pharmacy.

After studying to become a nurse at King’s College London, Caroline worked at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust on the stroke unit as a newly qualified nurse, before returning to Kent as a nurse at Sittingbourne and Sheppey community hospitals. She then went on to specialise in stroke and has fulfilled specialist stroke nurse roles at Medway Community Healthcare and Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

In 2016, Caroline joined Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust for her first head of nursing role as lead nurse for specialist medicine, where she gained a huge amount of experience, before expanding her portfolio in corporate nursing roles, including associate director of risk and compliance, and divisional nurse for cancer and clinical support.

Two years later, Caroline returned to Dartford and Gravesham where she has developed from head of nursing for medicine and emergency department (ED), to associate director of nursing and therapies for medicine, cancer and emergency care, and then into her current role as divisional director of nursing. During this time, she oversaw ED and medicine moving from being rated ‘requires improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission to ‘good’, something which she is incredibly proud of the team for achieving.

KCHFT Chief Executive Mairead McCormick said: “Caroline stood out in an impressive field of fellow nursing candidates. Her journey from a nurse on a community ward in her home town to chief nurse officer and Board director is a terrific example of how the NHS can grow and develop people through the career pathways that we offer and get people to stay working locally. I’m very much looking forward to her joining the Executive Team and the experience and passion that she brings.”

Caroline said: “I’m very passionate about Kent – it’s where my friends and family are – so I want to play my part in making this the best place for healthcare for everyone who lives here and I can’t wait to join the community team.

“It’s been a real privilege to work in the acute, especially caring and striving to deliver outstanding care to all those who walk through the door in their time of need – but I’m really looking forward to leading and supporting a more proactive approach in the community, which will support patients remaining closer to home.

“No matter how brilliant our teams are, people genuinely don’t want to be in hospital if not absolutely needed, they want to be in their home, or closer to home, away from the hustle and bustle of an acute hospital environment and community teams support to make that happen.”

Caroline – who never stops learning – has recently trained as a professional nurse advocate and has an MBA in leadership and management in healthcare from Canterbury Christ Church University.

Married, with a 16-year-old daughter and two sons, aged 13 and 11, she describes her spare time as filled with football matches, football runs and then weekday training, as all three of her children are into the game.

An animal lover, she has three dogs, six cats and a rabbit, and has enjoyed advocating for furry friends to visit and support recovery of patients while in hospital.