Prof Alison Leary

Who Prof Alison Leary is

Professor Alison Leary MBE FRCN is Chair of Healthcare & Workforce Modelling at London South Bank University and a Senior Consultant at the World Health Organization's Human Resources for Health Group, where she works on modelling complex healthcare systems. She has served as Deputy President of the Royal College of Nursing since 1 January 2025, having been elected in November 2024 and subsequently re-elected unopposed for a second term. Before entering nursing, she spent ten years working in engineering and biomedical sciences before qualifying as a registered nurse in 1996 and completing a PhD in clinical medicine. She is best known publicly for co-leading the long-running #ProtectNurse campaign, which in May 2025 secured a government commitment to protect the title 'nurse' in UK law. She has also argued consistently that nursing staffing should be treated as safety-critical and that workforce planning must be grounded in mathematical modelling of demand rather than headcount.

References for this biography

1. 1.RCN Presidential and Council elections results announced | Royal College of Nursing — Confirms election as Deputy President of the RCN in November 2024, her role at LSBU and the WHO, and her membership of the RCN Professional Nursing Committee.
2. 2.Who will be the next RCN President? You decide | Royal College of Nursing — Confirms re-election unopposed to a second term as Deputy President (July 2026).
3. 3.Professor Alison Leary MBE – The Queen's Institute of Community Nursing — Confirms role as Senior Consultant at WHO, Chair of Healthcare & Workforce Modelling at LSBU, Director of the ICNO 2019–2026, and award of the QICN Gold Badge in May 2026.
4. 4.'Nurse' title to be protected in law, government announces | Nursing in Practice — Confirms Leary led the #ProtectNurse campaign and the May 2025 government announcement to protect the title 'nurse' in law.
5. 5.MP to present new bill on protecting nurse title | Nursing Times — Confirms co-leadership of the #ProtectNurse campaign with Paul Trevatt and the research underpinning it, published in 2017.
6. 6.LSBU's Professor Alison Leary awarded Royal College of Nursing Fellowship | LSBU — Confirms RCN Fellowship awarded in 2015, NHS England-funded research, and professional background.
7. 7.Get to know RCN Deputy President Alison Leary | RCN Magazine — Confirms MBE in 2019 for services to crowd safety in English football, engineering background, role as Chief Nurse at St John Ambulance, and views on nursing workforce retention.
8. 8.Alison Leary – London South Bank University Research Portal — Confirms current role at LSBU, research interests (complexity of healthcare, safety, mathematical models, data science), and tenure as RCN Deputy President from 1 Jan 2025.

Notable achievements

• Co-led the #ProtectNurse campaign; the UK government announced in May 2025 that the title 'nurse' would be protected in law, with a call for evidence launched in July 2026. Source ↗
• Elected Deputy President of the Royal College of Nursing in November 2024, taking office 1 January 2025, and subsequently elected unopposed to a second term in July 2026. Source ↗
• Appointed MBE in 2019 for services to crowd safety in English football, following 23 years as clinical lead at Millwall Football Club. Source ↗
• Awarded the Gold Badge of the Queen's Institute of Community Nursing (QICN) — its highest honour — in May 2026, in recognition of her leadership of the International Community Nursing Observatory from 2019 to 2026. Source ↗
• Awarded RCN Fellowship in 2015, the highest honour the RCN can bestow, for exceptional contribution to nursing and healthcare. Source ↗

What Prof Alison Leary has said

• “By Alison Leary”

  Author · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · From policy to practice: Partnership as an enabler of the NHS three shifts ↗

• “One of its strengths is its systematic approach to different but overlapping issues.”

  Chair of healthcare and workforce modelling at London South Bank University · NHS & care workforce/staffing · 30 Sept 2026 · Australia publishes first nursing workforce strategy ↗

• “Without action, there is a real risk to both workforce sustainability and patient care”

  Director of the QICN's International Community Nursing Observatory · GP access · 30 Sept 2026 · ‘Unsustainable pressures’ facing general practice nursing workforce ↗

• “in an article on that report's legacy, this work was suspended. They believe this decision was motivated by the Conservative government's anxiety about potential cost implications.”

  Professor · Women's health & gynaecology · 29 Sept 2026 · The Guardian view on maternity care failings: Wes Streeting’s new inquiry must learn from past mistakes, not repeat them | Editorial ↗

• “If you have taken a job in a lower band or lower grade or a lower paid role for any reason, in any setting, we would like to hear from you. We want to understand why this happens and how employers respond, for example to requests for flexible working.”

  Workforce researcher and registered nurse, led by International Community Nursing Observatory at QICN · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Community nurses facing ‘forced demotions’, says QICN ↗

• “We talk a lot about the 'glass ceiling' and the 'sticky floor', but our research shows there's also a trap door – and experienced nurses are falling through it. Many are being forced to choose between their health, family life and their professional standing.”

  Director of the International Community Nursing Observatory · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Experienced community nurses forced down to lower-paid roles ↗

• “The effective rationing of incontinence products means that staff and patients both suffer – patients do not get the dignified care they need and nursing colleagues feel they are not meeting patients' fundamental needs.”

  deputy president of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · People living with incontinence face shortage of sanitary pads as NHS limits supplies ↗

• “Experts including Prof Alison Leary, deputy president of the Royal College of Nursing, believe that minimum nurse-patient ratios should be set out in law.”

  deputy president of the Royal College of Nursing · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · The Guardian view on the Ockenden maternity review: lifting standards must be the number one priority | Editorial ↗

Where Prof Alison Leary has been quoted

1. Voices for safety: A movement only nursing can leadrcn.org.uk · 4 Oct 2026
2. From policy to practice: Partnership as an enabler of the NHS three shiftshsj.co.uk · 30 Sept 2026
3. Australia publishes first nursing workforce strategynursingtimes.net · 30 Sept 2026
4. ‘Unsustainable pressures’ facing general practice nursing workforcenursingtimes.net · 30 Sept 2026
5. The Guardian view on maternity care failings: Wes Streeting’s new inquiry must learn from past mistakes, not repeat them | Editorialtheguardian.com · 29 Sept 2026
6. Community nurses facing ‘forced demotions’, says QICNnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
7. Experienced community nurses forced down to lower-paid rolesnursingtimes.net · 8 Sept 2026
8. People living with incontinence face shortage of sanitary pads as NHS limits suppliestheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
9. The Guardian view on the Ockenden maternity review: lifting standards must be the number one priority | Editorialtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.

• Leaders in Care Awards 2026 | Lifetime Achievement: Care Homes winner revealedHome Care Insight
• GP architect of neighbourhood health reforms to leave NHS EnglandPulse Today
• An important step forward in ending corridor care - Colin Poolman | Blog | RCN ScotlandRoyal College of Nursing

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://researchportal.lsbu.ac.uk/en/persons/alison-leary/
• LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-leary-094108a/

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.