Professor Cummings attended showcase events at Furness General Hospital and Royal Lancaster Infirmary where staff held market stalls on projects such as community midwifery and public health and smoking cessation. She had a tour of Westmorland General Hospital where she met ward staff and found out more about projects such as a Listening into Action scheme to improve surgery capacity at the hospital to support the acute sites.
Professor Cummings, said: “What staff have showcased today has been phenomenally powerful and I’ve been really lucky to have had the opportunity to see work going on in every service. “What I’ve loved most is the hard work, commitment and determination of the staff to make improvements for even better patient care. “There is a real sense of pride exuded for staff at UHMBT – it is wonderful to see.”
Professor Cummings specialised in Emergency Care before progressing into general management. She has held a wide variety of clinical and managerial roles including Director of Commissioning, Director of Nursing and Deputy Chief Executive. In February 2004, she became the National Lead for emergency care agreeing and implementing the 98% operational standard. She has also worked as the nursing advisor for emergency care. In January 2005, she was appointed as the National Implementation Director for ‘Choice’ and ‘Choose and Book’. She was appointed as Chief Nursing Officer for England in March 2012 and started full time in June 2012. Jane is the professional lead for all nurses and midwives in England (with the exception of public health). Sue Smith, Executive Chief Nurse, UHMBT, said: “I want to personally thank Jane for taking the time to visit staff at our three main sites and all of our staff who have taken part in today’s visit.”