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01  Voice · Union · Children's health

Union

Carli Whittaker

UK Head of Nursing Practice (Children and Young People), Royal College of Nursing (RCN)

Press coverage by month · bar height shows relative volume
May 2026JuneJulyAugSeptOctNovto date
2

Quoted in the press, across 2 topics since 10 Mar 2026

Where their coverage sitsLower 50%

Voices are sorted into four fixed groups by how much press coverage they have had across all topics, from the top 5% down to the lower half. The lit step is Carli Whittaker’s group.

LONDON
OfficeRoyal College of Nursing (RCN), London, W1G 0RNRoyal College of Nursing (RCN) is based in Cities of London and Westminster: the organisation’s base, not a personal address.

02  Quoted on · 1 of 29 topics

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Carli Whittaker: key facts

Kind of voice
Union
Role
UK Head of Nursing Practice (Children and Young People)
Organisation
Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
Organisation based in
Cities of London and Westminster
Quoted on
Children's health
Press coverage
Quoted in the press
Most recently quoted
20 Jul 2026
First quoted
10 Mar 2026

03  Profile

Who Carli Whittaker is

Carli Whittaker is UK Head of Nursing Practice for Children and Young People at the Royal College of Nursing. The RCN is the UK's largest professional body and trade union for nursing staff.

She is originally from Sydney, Australia, where she qualified as a registered nurse before moving to the UK more than 20 years ago. She is dual-qualified as an adult and paediatric nurse, specialises in paediatric critical care, and holds a PhD exploring children's nursing and nurse retention. She is Immediate Past President of the Paediatric Critical Care Society (PCCS) and the first nurse and first woman to hold that role.

In RCN statements she has called for sustained investment in health visitors and school nurses, and for safe staffing levels and skill mix in children and young people's services.

Notable achievements

  1. 01

    Immediate Past President of the Paediatric Critical Care Society (PCCS), the first nurse and first woman to hold the role. Source ↗

  2. 02

    Holds a PhD exploring children's nurses and the retention challenges they face. Source ↗

  3. 03

    Represented the RCN at the 7th Paediatric Nurses Association of Europe (PNAE) Conference, 10–12 June 2026, in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. Source ↗

  4. 04

    Co-authored a Nursing Times opinion piece (1 July 2026) on the value of children's nurses, with Rebekah Overend. Source ↗

04  The signal · where Carli Whittaker sits on children's health

Leading

One of the voices most often quoted in the press on children's health.

Placed by press coverage on this topic only, not across all topics.

  1. Dr Helen Stewart portraitDr Helen StewartClinicianOfficer for Health Improvement (and Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, Sheffield Children's Hospital), Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)Leading
  2. Dr Mike McKeanClinicianVice-president for policy of the RCPCHLeading
  3. Lynn Woolsey portraitLynn WoolseyUnionChief Nursing Officer, Royal College of NursingLeading
  4. Angie WillisClinicianNHS midwife and registered health visitorLeading
  5. Dr Dana BeasleyClinicianCo-Officer for Wales (RCPCH); Consultant PaediatricianLeading
  6. Carli Whittaker portraitCarli WhittakerUnionUK Head of Nursing Practice (Children and Young People), Royal College of Nursing (RCN)Leading
  7. Rachel NichollsClinicianconsultant paediatricianLeading
  8. Veronica NijloveanuClinicianconsultant paediatricianLeading

Showing the leading voices and those placed around Carli Whittaker · See every voice on the topic →

05  On the record · press

What Carli Whittaker has said

By outlet · bar length shows relative volume
  • rcn.org.uk
  • nuffieldtrust.org.uk
  • nursinginpractice.com
  • nursingtimes.net

Where Carli Whittaker has been quoted

  1. Primary care access and nursing capacity ‘must be strengthened’ to support child health | Nursing in Practicenursinginpractice.com · 20 Jul 2026
  2. Without decisive action we condemn generations to poor health and add further unnecessary pressure on health and care services, says Royal College of Nursingrcn.org.uk · 14 Jul 2026
  3. Without decisive action we condemn generations to poor health and add further unnecessary pressure on health and care services, says Royal College of Nursing | Royal College of Nursingrcn.org.uk · 14 Jul 2026
  4. Children still suffer poorer health one-year following intensive carenursingtimes.net · 21 May 2026
  5. Too old for paediatrics, too young for adult services: the problem that must be solvednuffieldtrust.org.uk

How we found the articles that name Carli Whittaker: we searched news for these terms.

  • children's health
  • paediatric
  • child health
  • children's hospital
  • infant mortality

Also searched with “children's health” in each of 8 national papers, and in the Guardian by editor tag, and in trade press by category. Every term for Children's health

Verbatim

“The report is right to call for sustained investment in the parts of the nursing workforce closest to the child.”
Royal College of Nursing head of nursing practice · Children's health · nursinginpractice.com · 20 Jul 2026 · Read the article
“The report is a tragic reminder of how badly children and young people are being failed. Poor health early in life can have long-term consequences. Unless this is urgently tackled, we not only condemn generations to chronic poor health but add further unnecessary pressure on health and care services.”
RCN Head of Nursing Practice · Children's health · rcn.org.uk · 14 Jul 2026 · Read the article
“Poor health early in life can have long-term consequences. Unless this is urgently tackled, we not only condemn generations to chronic poor health but add further unnecessary pressure on health and care services.”
Head of Nursing Practice, Royal College of Nursing · rcn.org.uk · 14 Jul 2026 · Read the article
“This important national study shows that survival is no longer the only outcome of importance for critically ill children and their families.”
UK head of nursing practice at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) · Children's health · nursingtimes.net · 21 May 2026 · Read the article

Related media coverage

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

06  Sources

References for this biography

  1. Carli Whittaker, UK Head of Nursing Practice Children and Young People (RCPCH conference). Current RCN role, PCCS past presidency, Sydney origins, dual adult and paediatric qualification, PhD, and professional interests.
  2. PCCS Council — Paediatric Critical Care Society. Immediate Past President of PCCS, over 20 years in paediatric critical care, recent move to the RCN role, and PhD on children's nurse retention.
  3. Carli Whittaker - Talent Timebanking. RCN title, and that she was the first nurse and first woman to be PCCS President.
  4. Strengthening paediatric nursing across Europe (RCN blog, 29 Jun 2026). RCN Head of Nursing Practice title, her portfolio, and her attendance at the PNAE conference for the RCN.
  5. Safe staffing in children and young people's services simply can't wait (RCN blog, 10 Mar 2026). Her RCN blog arguing for safe staffing levels and skill mix in children and young people's services.
  6. Investment in nursing needed to tackle child health inequalities (Nursing Times). Press quotes calling for investment in health visitors and school nurses, and for ministers to act in deprived areas.
  7. 'Without children's nurses, our wider healthcare systems would buckle under pressure' (Nursing Times). Title 'UK head of nursing practice, Royal College of Nursing' and her co-authored opinion piece.
  8. RCN Press Releases. RCN press release of 14 July 2026 quoting her on sustained investment in health visitors and school nurses.
  9. Primary care access and nursing capacity 'must be strengthened' to support child health (Nursing in Practice). Further press coverage quoting her as the RCN's head of nursing practice.
  10. Royal College of Nursing of the UK (RCN) – International Council of Nurses. RCN address at 20 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0RN, its website, and its description as the UK's largest professional body and trade union for nursing staff.
  11. RCN Careers – Locations. 20 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0RN is the RCN UK headquarters.

07  Contact & links

Staff page
rcn.org.uk/news-and-events/Blogs/strengthening-paediatric-nursing-across-europe-290626
Website
rcn.org.ukpublished here ↗

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

Officers of trade unions and professional associations speaking for a workforce. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 13 Nov 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.