Avey Bhatia, Chief Nurse and Vice President of the Florence Nightingale FoundationAvey Bhatia joined as our Chief Nurse and Vice President of the Florence Nightingale Foundation in November 2020.
She returned to the Trust having trained as a critical care nurse at St Thomas' in the early part of her career. Her clinical experience includes theatres, general intensive care, coronary care and cardiothoracic nursing. Avey holds a postgraduate diploma in health services management and a Masters in public administration.
Avey qualified in 1991, having trained at Maidstone Hospital in Kent. She has held various staff nurse and sister posts at hospitals in London including St George's, where she moved into management, eventually becoming a divisional director of nursing.
In 2011, she was appointed Deputy Chief Nurse at South London Healthcare Trust and became chief nurse at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust in 2013. She started as Chief Nurse and Director of Infection Prevention and Control at St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in February 2017 and from February 2020 had been carrying out the role of Chief Operating Officer, helping to lead St George's response to coronavirus (COVID-19).