Daljit Athwal

Daljit Athwal is Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, a role she has held since August 2022. A registered nurse, registered sick children’s nurse and registered health visitor, Daljit also holds an MBA and was awarded the Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, by Coventry University in 2023.

Daljit is an experienced senior NHS nurse leader with a career spanning acute, community, regional and national roles. Before joining Birmingham Women’s and Children’s, she served for four years as Chief Nurse at George Eliot Hospital. Her earlier executive and senior leadership roles include Deputy Chief Nurse at Nottingham University Hospitals and Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals, Head of Quality at the Trust Development Authority, and Director of Quality Governance at Kettering General Hospital.

She was also one of the first Nursing Fellows within the Chief Nursing Officer for England’s team, where she led a national initiative to improve end-of-life care in acute hospitals. Throughout her career, Daljit has developed a strong track record of working with NHS trusts to strengthen quality governance, improve patient safety and support regulatory improvement.

Daljit is passionate about care excellence, compassionate leadership and devolved leadership models that empower clinical teams and service users to shape meaningful quality improvement. Her leadership approach is grounded in partnership, professional accountability and a commitment to ensuring that patients, families and staff experience safe, effective and person-centred care.