The LSBU Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Annual Lecture

Hailed as one of the UK's greatest ever nurses, Dame Elizabeth Anionwu has had an incredible career and a monumental impact on the nursing profession. From her early days as a health visitor through to becoming the first ever sickle cell nurse specialist, she has received countless honours & awards for her work, has been made patron to many organisations, including the Sickle Cell Society, and was declared one of the 70 most influential nurses & midwives in the history of the NHS.

Although now retired, Dame Elizabeth 's recent work has focused on the impact of COVID-19 on Black & Asian Communities. She recently became a Pride of Britain awardee and one of the BBC's 100 Women of the Year 2020. Her memoir, Dreams from my Mother, was released last year.

To celebrate her life achievements, her 75th birthday (which took place in July) and her upcoming Honorary Graduate Award, LSBU's Institute of Health & Social Care are delighted to announce the launch of The LSBU Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Annual Lecture: Celebrating Inclusivity in Nursing & Midwifery.

Commencing in 2022, this event will be officially opened by Dame Anionwu who will share her thoughts & vision for the Annual Lecture moving forwards as we welcome her into the LSBU Family. Dame Anionwu will then introduce an esteemed guest speaker to deliver the lecture of the evening.

We are proud to announce that our first guest speaker is Professor Laura Serrant OBE. Last year, Professor Serrant was appointed by Health Education England as the regional Head of Nursing and Midwifery in the North East & Yorkshire following her time as Professor of Nursing and Head of the Nursing department at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her extensive career began working in sexual & reproductive health and she has been recognised repeatedly for her work in community and public health nursing.

In 2018, she received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to Nursing and Health Policy and was listed as number 8 in the Powerlist UK (top 100 most influential Black people in UK). In October, she was announced as the winner of the coveted Chief Nursing Officers’ Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2021 edition of the annual Nursing Times Awards. Professor Serrant is also a published author, panellist & commentator on health & EDI issues and the perfect choice to kickstart this annual offering!

LSBU are delighted to be supported by a variety of incredible organisations for this event who are all committed to inclusivity and to celebrating the impact of nurses, midwives and the healthcare professions. You will have an opportunity to meet with their staff to find out more about their work - They’re looking forward to meeting you! Find out who they are below…

Provisional programme

5.00pm – Arrival & registration with refreshments & sponsor stands

5.45pm – Welcome & scene setting – Professor Calvin Moorley

5.50pm – A few words from Dame Elizabeth Anionwu

6.00pm – Lecture by Professor Laura Serrant

6.40pm – Q&A with Elizabeth & Laura, hosted by Calvin

7.10pm – A few words from our main sponsor, Unison

7.15pm – HEE awards launch by Calvin & Liz Fenton OBE, Deputy Chief Nurse, HEE

7.20pm – Closing remarks and thank you – Professor Warren Turner

7.30pm – Networking reception with sponsor stands

8.30pm – Close

This event is open to all and we look forward to welcoming you to LSBU. There will be plenty of opportunities for questions, networking & discussion with Dame Anionwu, Professor Serrant, LSBU colleagues & guests during and following the event.

These two influential leaders & change makers will undoubtedly ensure that the inaugural LSBU Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Annual Lecture is packed with experience, wisdom, insight & inspiration as we look to the future of health & social care and to hearing from those leading the way!

CHECK OUT OUR BHM2022 EVENTS HERE.

Our sponsors...

UNISON – Main Sponsor

UNISON is the largest trade union in health and social care across the UK. We represent nurses, midwives, nursing support workers and many other members of the healthcare team. UNISON actively promotes equality and is proud to sponsor this event to celebrate inclusivity in nursing and midwifery.

Barts Health – Exhibitor

Barts Health Trust operates from four major hospital sites (The Royal London, St Bartholomew’s, Whipps Cross and Newham) and a number of community locations, including Mile End hospital. Around 2.5 million people living in east London look to our services to provide them with the healthcare they need. We serve one of the most diverse populations in the country, and we're committed to eliminating discrimination, valuing diversity and promoting equality of opportunity to build and sustain an inclusive environment to deliver and receive safe and compassionate care.

Carvell Nurses' Trust – Exhibitor

Cavell Nurses’ Trust is the charity supporting the UK nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, both working and retired, when they’re suffering personal or financial hardship. This is often due to illness, disability, older age, domestic abuse and the impact of rising living costs. We offer a tailored package of support to help everyone who gets in touch like emotional support for those in crisis, advice on maximising benefits and one-off grants to quickly relieve financial hardship. So from simple, essential support like money to repair or replace essentials like a broken cooker, to vital life changing aid like helping a family flee their home due to domestic abuse, Cavell is here to help.

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Exhibitor

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest and busiest teaching Trusts in the country. Our 14,000 staff represent a multitude of cultures, religions, sexualities, abilities and backgrounds, and there is such diversity in our patient populations, it is often said we have ‘the world on our doorstep’. Last year we published our Strong Roots Global Reach strategy that described the framework by which we will put ‘equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at the heart of all we do’. Since then, King’s EDI Team have published the Trust’s first Roadmap to Inclusion, which sets out the range of projects and programmes that aim to create an inclusive environment where all our staff can thrive, as well as the actions we will undertake to reduce disparities in access, experience and outcome for our diverse local communities.

Kofoworola Abeni Pratt Fellowship - Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) - Exhibitor

The fellowship is named after the first black nurse to train at the Nightingale School of Nursing in 1946, Kofoworola Abeni Pratt – a pioneer who went on to hold many leadership positions, being the first black woman to do so, including Chief Nurse of Nigeria, Commissioner for Health in Lagos and Vice-President of the International Council of Nurses; the fellowship supports the ongoing work across Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) to address the underrepresentation and inequality of staff from ethnic minority background at a senior level.

Mary Seacole Trust – Exhibitor

The Mary Seacole Trust exists to educate and inform the public about the life, work and achievements of Mary Seacole, the 19th century Jamaican-born nurse who overcame racism and injustice to nurse soldiers during the Crimean War.

As a result of a nationwide appeal supported by thousands of individuals as well as the military and major corporations, a statue of Mary was unveiled at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, opposite the Houses of Parliament, in June 2016

Our role is to maintain the statue for future generations. Already a major London landmark, it ensures that Mary, a mixed race woman of Scottish-Jamaican descent is never again lost to history as she was for over 100 years.

In addition, our major projects aim to promote Mary as a role model for today’s young people, encouraging them to follow her example of good citizenship, entrepreneurship and achievement. We also aim to build on Mary’s legacy to promote fairness and equality, including diverse leadership in private and public services.

Nursing Times – Exhibitor

Nursing Times is the independent voice of nursing. We educate, inform and support nurses at every stage of their career through our clinical articles, CPD zone and daily news service. Nursing Times is a must-read for nurses serious about improving practice and developing their careers and those of their teams.

RefuAid – Exhibitor

RefuAid is a non-profit organisation which supports refugees and asylum seekers all over the UK to access higher education, re-qualification and employment. Our core three programmes work together to support our clients on their journey from arriving in the UK into meaningful employment commensurate with their skills and experience.

SAGE Publishing – Exhibitor

SAGE is a global academic publisher of books, journals, and a growing suite of library products and services. At SAGE, we are dedicated to developing a wide range of Health and Nursing textbooks, handbooks and student reference works that support students’ learning as well as lecturers’ teaching. We are proud to publish books at every level written by leading authors and nursing educators, from introductory texts through to more specialized texts for higher-level students and professionals. We also publish over 100 highly-read and cited journals (to support academics, students and researchers) in the health and nursing discipline.

Sickle Cell Society - Exhibitor

The Sickle Cell Society is the only national charity in the UK that supports and represents people affected by a sickle cell disorder to improve their overall quality of life.

First set up as a registered charity in 1979, the Sickle Cell Society has been working alongside health care professionals, parents, and people living with sickle cell to raise awareness of the disorder. The Society’s aim is to support those living with sickle cell, empowering them to achieve their full potential.