Guy’s and St Thomas’ Chief Nurse appointed to new national role

The Trust’s Chief Nurse, Professor Avey Bhatia OBE, has been appointed as the first Chief Nurse of the new Online NHS Trust, which she will combine with her current role at Guy’s and St Thomas’.

Professor Bhatia will bring more than 3 decades of clinical and executive nursing experience to the new national provider. She will undertake her new role part-time, providing professional leadership for nursing and will oversee quality, patient safety, safeguarding and patient experience as the Online NHS Trust prepares to deliver specialist planned care through the NHS App from the end of 2027.

Professor Bhatia said: “I am delighted to be appointed as the first Chief Nurse for the Online NHS Trust. This is an exciting opportunity to give patients greater choice and faster access to high-quality care, wherever they are.

“My priority will be to ensure that patient safety and experience are at the heart of everything we do as we develop high-quality online services that meet the needs of patients today and in the future.”

Professor Bhatia has served as Chief Nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’ since November 2020. She qualified as a nurse in 1991 and has clinical experience in theatres, coronary care, and general and cardiothoracic intensive care. Her previous executive roles include Chief Nurse at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and Chief Nurse at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

She is Professor of the Practice of Nursing at King’s College London, President of the Florence Nightingale Foundation and Honorary Vice President of the Nightingale Fellowship. She holds a master’s degree in public administration and was awarded an OBE in 2025 for services to nursing and the NHS.

Professor Bhatia also brings significant experience of large-scale digital and clinical transformation. As Senior Responsible Officer for the implementation of the Epic electronic health record at Guy’s and St Thomas’, she led one of the largest Epic launches globally, alongside wider clinical transformation and the successful adoption of a patient portal serving more than 1 million patients.

Guy’s and Thomas’ Chief Executive, Dame Amanda Pritchard, said: “Avey will bring a wealth of experience, energy and talent to this exciting new role.  I have no doubt the Online NHS Trust will benefit enormously from her professional leadership and, equally, that we will benefit from the insights she will bring back to the Trust from her role there.”