Getting to Know You: Fiona Hoskins, Chief Nursing Officer

Date: 28/10/2024

Fiona Hoskins – Chief Nursing Officer

When considering her next career move, Chief Nursing Officer Fiona Hoskins was looking for a forward-looking organisation with the right values and ambitious plans for the future of patient care – she’s found it here at MKUH.

Fiona, who was Deputy Chief Nurse at University Hospitals Dorset, is very keen to develop the nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals’ workforce at the hospital.

‘MKUH ticked all the boxes for me. When I came up to look round, I felt assured that I was coming to the right place with a supportive leadership team keen to drive standards even higher,’ says Fiona, who has just bought a home in the city.

It was almost a given that she would go into nursing – her mum was a nurse and midwife, her dad was a family GP and one of her brothers is a pharmacist.

With the exception of her training years at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’s, Fiona spent her career until now on England’s south coast.  She was one of the first nurse practitioners in acute care and did spells in governance, patient safety and risk roles as well as clinical education and practice development. In order to build up her knowledge of the wider NHS she made a strategic decision to go into commissioning, before returning to frontline nursing.

‘I wanted to make sure I had good solid knowledge and experience of many key areas so that when a Chief Nursing Officer role came up, I would have a clear-sighted strategy of what changes I might want to make in that role. I am very keen on growing leadership from within and also excited about attracting new talent in a place where there are plenty of opportunities for every individual to progress their career here. I’m delighted too that we have Nursing Cadets here as it’s a terrific way for young people to take their first steps towards a career in nursing.’

Fiona plans to get out and about around the trust with dedicated clinical time every other Friday afternoon.

‘I’ve set aside time for Frontline Fridays, where I can get to know all my teams on their home ground. It’s a great way to really learn about specific challenges and achievements in an informal manner,’ she adds.

Away from work Fiona and husband Graham are both keen runners. She has completed marathons in Berlin, London and Manchester. She has joined the Redway Runners as a way to get to know fellow runners and the many routes and green spaces available to her. She’s looking forward to attending  MK’s Festival of Running next year.

In addition to fitness, Fiona loves exploring in her 1970s VW camper van Okey Cokey (so named as it came from Okehampton in Devon), and walking her Romanian rescue dog Hugo, who’s a dead ringer for Scooby Doo!