NHS England Senior Advisor – Adult Social Care Nursing
We are pleased to let you know that Dr Zena Aldridge has been appointed to the post of Senior Advisor – Adult Social Care Nursing and has taken up the post on a fixed-term secondment starting this week.
Prior to taking on this role, Zena was Nursing and Midwifery Associate Director for Social Care Nursing at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Zena also continues to develop her own research career having been awarded an NIHR Senior Clinical Practitioner Research Award in 2025.
A registered mental health nurse, Zena’s career in health and social care spans four decades, with much of that time spent working in local authority and charity settings. She has held a variety of senior clinical and leadership roles at local, regional and national level, working to positively influence change across systems, research and practice. Zena is an Independent Dementia Nurse Consultant, Queen’s Nurse and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Salford.
In this new role, Zena will provide expert nursing advice on adult social care and strengthen engagement with nursing leaders and networks across the sector.
Working with teams across NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, she will help ensure the contribution of adult social care nursing is valued and reflected in national policy, professional leadership and decision-making, including in key areas such as neighbourhood health, workforce development, education reform, quality improvement, digital transformation and integrated care delivery.
Following the retirement of Professor Deborah Sturdy, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, the creation of this role reflects my commitment to strong, visible leadership for the adult social care nursing workforce. This role will help ensure this is maintained as we undergo the organisational restructure to create the new Department of Health and Social Care, at which point longer-term arrangements will be developed and put in place.
Zena brings extensive experience and expertise, and I am sure you will join us in welcoming her to the role.