Dame Elizabeth Harriet Fradd, DBE, FRCN (12 May 1949 – 12 May 2024) was a British nursing administrator.

Life and career

Between 1973 and 1983, she held a variety of

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a healthcare professional who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized ...

midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...

and

health visitor Health visitors are professional individuals engaged in public health work within the domestic setting, predominantly found in countries with state-funded health systems. They are distinct from district nurses, who provide clinical healthcare, do ...

posts, while training as a children's nurse who also managed children's units in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

and worked as a nursing officer at the Department of Health. In 1994, she gained an MSc in Health Care Policy and Organisation from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. A year later, she became the Director of Nursing and Education at the NHS Executive West Midlands Regional Office. In 1999, she was appointed the Assistant Chief Nursing Officer (Nursing Practice) for the Department of Health. At national level, she was Assistant Chief Nurse in the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

, a post she moved to after having been the Director of Nursing and Education in the West Midlands Regional Office. She chaired the Joint British Advisory Committee for Children's Nursing for over ten years. She chaired the Children's Nursing Committee for the English National Board and was Vice Chair of the RCN Children’s Nurse Managers Forum. Fradd served at the

Commission for Health Improvement The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health of the United Kingdom from 2001 until 2004, when its functions were subsumed by the Healthcare Commission. CHI was established b ...

as Director of Nursing and Lead Director for the Inspection and Review Programme. She held many honorary academic positions which include a Visiting Professor of Nursing at the

University of Central England Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic in 1971 and gained university status in ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. Her career took an international direction, including an invitation to advise Aboriginal health workers in the

Australian outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass ...

. She acted in an advisory capacity to China, the United States, Canada and Australia. From April 2004, she worked as an independent adviser on health services and continued to take an interest in children's health as a Trustee for Contact a Family and as an adviser to Action for Sick Children. She sat on the Prime Minister's independent commission that published the

Front Line Care (Report) The Front Line Care report was a Prime Minister's independent commission on the future of nursing and midwifery in England. It was published in 2010, followed by the United Kingdom, UK Government's response in 2011. It was the first overarching gove ...

in 2010.

Death

Fradd died on 12 May 2024, her 75th birthday.

Awards

Fradd received honorary doctorates from the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university in Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, England, located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Originally founded in 1827 as the Wolverham ...

and

, where she had a special professorship. She was made a Fellow of the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union and professional body in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916 as the College of Nursing, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Eliz ...

in 2004.

Honours

Fradd was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. t ...

. Fradd was picked

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centu ...

for the year 2020–21.

External links

Profile at RCN website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fradd, Elizabeth 1949 births 2024 deaths English nurses Academics of Birmingham City University Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal College of Nursing High sheriffs of Nottinghamshire Alumni of the University of Nottingham British nurses