News Release
UWE Bristol Professor appointed to first Florence Nightingale Foundation chair in the South West
University of the West of England Professor Candy McCabe has been appointed to the newly created
Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) Chair in Clinical Nursing Practice Research, a post created in
collaboration with the FNF and the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD) NHS
Foundation Trust in Bath. Candy is currently Professor of Nursing and Pain Sciences at UWE Bristol
and a Consultant Nurse at the RNHRD, where she leads on the Trust’s Complex Regional Pain
Syndrome Service (CRPS)
Professor McCabe said, “It’s a great honour to be awarded this Chair by the Florence Nightingale
Foundation. As a nurse I am passionate about improving patient care, and advancing the profession
of nursing to help achieve that. Florence Nightingale had a clear vision, which still holds true today
for how excellence in nursing practice and leadership could benefit the individual and society as a
whole. It was that vision that drew me to nursing in the first place and I am thrilled to now have the
opportunity to advance the aims of my profession whilst retaining my clinical and research practice.”
Sarah Green, Head of Nursing and Midwifery at UWE Bristol, said, “This prestigious Chair is the
seventh FNF Chair to be created in the UK and a great accolade for us. The FNF’s mission is to
support nurses and midwives in various ways; at the heart of the FNF mission is emphasising the
importance to us all of nurses and midwives and ensuring that senior nurses and midwives
contribute positively to strategic policy development at the very top levels in the health system. This
chimes perfectly with the vision of the Faculty and the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, whose
vision is ‘With practice, for practice, transforming practice’.”
“The RNHRD is immensely proud of Candy’s achievement.” says Rayna McDonald, Director of
Operations and Clinical Practice at the RNHRD. “The Florence Nightingale chair represents a
fantastic opportunity to influence nursing at a national level; I know Candy will make the very most
of that opportunity and approach this appointment with the same passion and commitment she
applies to all areas of her work and will continue to be influential in developing nursing practice.
Candy’s work and achievements uphold the values of the RNHRD and reinforce the high quality care
we deliver, we will continue work with her as she develops this new role and helps to shape the
future delivery of patient care.
Professor Elizabeth Robb, Chief Executive of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, said, “Professor
Candy McCabe’s appointment is the first of our appointments in the South West and we are thrilled
that she is joining our network of clinical nursing practice research chairs. Her clinical research area
fits well with the vision and the key national and research priorities of the Florence Nightingale
Foundation.”
Professor Candy McCabe trained as a nurse at St. Thomas’ Hospital, London and after working in a
variety of specialties including ward based and research work she moved to the Royal National
Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD), Bath in the mid- 90’s. Since this time her research and
clinical interests directly relate to increasing our understanding of the mechanisms and potential
therapies for those with chronic unexplained pain, particularly that of Complex Regional Pain
Syndrome (CRPS) and other neuropathic pain conditions. She leads a multi-disciplinary Clinical
Research team that provides national services for those with CRPS and for those suffering with late
effects from radiotherapy following treatment for breast cancer.
The central core of her research is focused on the relationship between the sensory and motor
systems and pain; what part they may play in the development and perpetuation of pain; and how
they can be modified to relieve pain. Candy was awarded an NIHR Career Development Fellowship in
2009 to pursue this research whilst retaining her part-time clinical practice as a Consultant Nurse.
She moved to the University of the West of England in April 2010 to take up a Chair in Nursing and
Pain Sciences.
Candy is a member of a number of national committees in the specialties of rheumatology and pain,
is Chair of the International Association for the Study of Pain Special Interest Group for CRPS, and a
member of the British Pain Society Scientific Committee. She is a past president of the British Health
Professionals in Rheumatology.
Ends
Contact Details
Jane Kelly or Mary Price
Media Relations Office
UWE Bristol
Tel: 0117 32 82208
E-mail: PressOffice@uwe.ac.uk
UWE Bristol press releases available on
http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/
Editors notes:
The Florence Nightingale Foundation exists to support nurses and midwives with scholarships,
mentoring and to give them the recognition they so richly deserve. The Foundation raises vital funds
to support this key group of clinical professionals by enabling study, promoting innovation in
practice, at home and abroad, and extending knowledge and skills to enable nurses and midwives to
meet changing needs and improve patient care. At the heart of our Foundation is the continuation
of the work of Florence Nightingale who began equipping senior nurses and midwives with the
confidence to represent their profession at the very top levels of our health system. Further
information: http://www.florence-nightingale-foundation.org.uk
RNHRD
The RNHRD NHS FT is a national specialist rehabilitation and rheumatology hospital based in Bath.
Offering services to adults, children and young people, the trust has expertise in general and
complex:
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Rheumatological and musculoskeletal conditions
Chronic pain management including Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Fatigue Management (CFS/ME and cancer survivorship fatigue).
www.rnhrd.nhs.uk
The Trust has an excellent reputation for research both nationally and internationally. Research
informs our treatment programmes and contributes to a better understanding of many of the
conditions in which we specialise.