Dame Elizabeth Cockayne, DBE (29 October 1894 – 4 July 1988) was

Chief Nursing Officer Nursing management consists of the performance of the leadership functions of governance and decision-making within organizations employing nurses. It includes processes common to all management like planning, organizing, staffing, directing and ...

from the inception of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in 1948 until her retirement a decade later in 1958. She was succeeded by Dame

Kathleen Raven Dame Kathleen Annie Raven, DBE, FRCN (9 November 1910, Coniston, Lancashire, England – 19 April 1999, Oxford, England) was a British nurse, matron, government health official, health care engineer, and educational philanthropist. Career * ...

Career

Born in

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. Th ...

, Cockayne decided to become a nurse due to her own experiences with ill health, such as

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

and

scarlatina Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

. She was trained in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. In 1954 she chaired the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

's Expert Committee on Nursing.UK Online - 1894
, ukonline.co.uk; accessed 7 April 2016.

Awards/honours

She was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal by the International Council of Nurses. In 1955 she was appointed a Dame Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(DBE).

Death

Dame Elizabeth Cockayne died at Rushett Cottage, Littleheath Lane,

Cobham, Surrey Cobham () is a large village in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, centred south-west of London and northeast of Guildford on the River Mole. It has a commercial/services High Street, a significant number of primary and private s ...

on 4 July 1988, aged 93.

References

External links

*
NCBI site
1894 births 1988 deaths NHS Chief Professional Officers English nurses British nursing administrators Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Burton upon Trent People from Cobham, Surrey Florence Nightingale Medal recipients {{UK-med-bio-stub