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Francesca Steyn

Forum Chair
VP Clinical at Peppy Health

Francesca Steyn has a special interest in gamete donation and surrogacy and fertility care for LGBTQIA people. She qualified from London Southbank University in 2005 and went on to work in HIV and Sexual health care, where she developed an interest in women’s health, which then led her into fertility.

She has worked in various busy London units in both the NHS and private sectors and has had the opportunity to learn and develop a wide range of skills, including performing surgical sperm retrievals under consultant supervision, assisting with the management of the fertility needs of patients diagnosed with a blood borne virus, managing large donation programmes, leading and implementing surrogacy programmes and building out a remote fertility care service.

Francesca has presented her work on an international level and has co-authored RCN publications and guidance for fertility nursing staff and published Department of Health guidance on surrogacy best practice and care in surrogate births. She was awarded surrogacy professional of the year in both 2018 and 2019 at the National Surrogacy Awards and was awarded the RCN Award of merit in 2023 for her contribution to nursing and the RCN. She is a member of the legislative reform advisory group, appointed by the HFEA to modernise the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act and a member of the NICE Fertility problems: assessment and treatment (update) group.

Anne Howard

Lead Fertility and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner at Peppy Health

Anne has been fertility nursing for the past 13 years and has worked in both the NHS and private sector. She qualified as a registered adult nurse in 2008 and worked on a vascular ward for a couple of years before securing a job at CRM Coventry in 2010.

Anne obtained her sisters post at CRM Coventry and became proficient in ultrasound scanning, IUI and nurse consultations, before moving to London.

Anne was lucky enough to spend time working with Zita West and developed her knowledge of holistic therapies, before meeting her husband and moving back to the midlands where she developed her skills further working at the very successful nurse led clinic - Midland fertility. Anne learnt to perform endometrial scratches and surgical sperm retrieval.

Anne has also worked for IVI Midland and Care Fertility. During this time, she progressed to more senior roles and specialised in egg donation (UK and abroad) and surrogacy.

Anne has worked independently within the fertility sector, being a nurse consultant for an ovulation predictor kit company, and assisting in the development of a new patient documentation storage database. She has also written articles for IVF Babble and Baby Magazine.

Anne later succeeded to become nurse manager for Care Birmingham and its satellite clinic Care Tamworth and helped to develop new systems and ways of working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anne now works as a Lead Fertility and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner at Peppy Health and helps clients via a digital platform through their employers. This is an extremely exciting role as it is taking fertility nursing to new levels and ensuring that fertility is focused on within the workplace. It also enables her to support patients/clients and give clinical advice in a new and developing way.

Anne is excited to be part of the RCN Fertility Nursing Forum Committee as she is passionate about giving patients the best possible care by ensuring that fertility nurses have the education and support they require to assist patients/clients.

Buki Fatuga 

Fertility Sister, The Lister Fertility Clinic

Buki qualified as an Adult Nurse from the University of Essex in 2014 and began her career at Chelsea and Westminster hospital. During that time, she worked on Gynaecology and Acute medicine wards but always knew her calling was to be a midwife.

Buki commenced her training at University College London and qualified as a midwife in 2017, fertility stood out for her as a career path due to the growing numbers of mothers who spoke of their own brave fertility journeys.

Buki’s path to Fertility began in an NHS fertility clinic where she learnt all about the pillars of fertility. In 2020 she completed a Postgraduate diploma in Sexual and reproductive medicine. She is also a qualified Non Medical Prescriber.

Since qualifying in 2014 Buki has worked continuously on self-improvement and Professional development. Buki’s Focus as a Nurse/midwife has always been patient experience and quality, Buki believes this can be best achieved by maintaining consistency within the patient pathway.

Buki would describe herself as passionate, determined, kind, and organised. Her areas of interest within fertility focus on reproductive immunology and the male perspective/emotional support.

Buki joined the committee with the goal of promoting best practise within fertility and empowering fertility nurses through promotion of emotional support and well-being.

Charlotte Galloway

Charlotte graduated from Teesside University as an Adult Nurse in 2015. Her journey into nursing began with a placement in Gynaecology, sparking a profound interest in women's health. Since then, Charlotte’s nursing career started working as an Anaesthetic Nurse and on a Surgical Day Ward. In 2016, she joined The London Women’s Clinic, where she has ascended to the role of Senior Fertility Nurse at LWC Darlington.

As a devoted Fertility Nurse, Charlotte's commitment to patient care is evident. She recognises the pivotal nature of her role in supporting and guiding patients through their fertility journeys.

Over the past two years, Charlotte played a key role in integrating a patient application into the clinic, witnessing its transformative impact—from empowering patients and enhancing communication to streamlining processes and improving overall efficiency. Her keen interest in integrating technology with fertility care reflects her innovative mindset.

Charlotte's passion extends beyond her clinical responsibilities; she is a advocate for education, believing in the accessibility of learning and developing opportunities for all. Eager to represent fertility nursing in the Northeast, Charlotte eagerly anticipates the possibilities the RCN Fertility Forum will offer, not only for herself but for fellow Fertility Nurses seeking growth and collaboration.

Jane Denton

JaneÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥™s background is nursing and midwifery with a specialist interest in infertility and genetics. Jane led the development of the nursing team in one of the first IVF programmes in the UK. As the implications of multiple births arising from infertility treatments began to emerge in the late 1980s, she moved to the Multiple Births Foundation  to address the problems and became Director in 1998. She has written and lectured extensively on all aspects of multiple births and has contributed to substantial change in public and professional attitudes towards them. She was co-founder and coÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥“lead of the Elizabeth Bryan Multiple Births Centre. 

Jane was sub-editor for nursing, counselling and ethics for ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥˜Human FertilityÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥™, the official journal of the British Fertility Society (BFS) from 1998 until 2020. 

A former member and deputy chair of the HFEA Authority and a founder member of the ÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥ Fertility Nursing Forum, Jane has wide experience of the clinical, scientific and ethical challenges presented by the advances in reproductive technologies.  

Jane was made a Fellow of the RCN in 2006, an Honorary Fellow of the BFS in 2008 was awarded a CBE in the QueenÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥™s Birthday Honours in 2007 for services to nursing and healthcare. She was President of the BFS from 2018 to 2021. 

Natasha Witchell

I qualified as an adult nurse in 2015 and began my nursing career on a gynaecology ward in the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. I always knew even during my nurse training that I had a desire to become a fertility nurse. I embarked on my diploma in pelvic and early pregnancy ultrasound whilst working on the Gynaecology ward and simultaneously was able to secure a job as a junior fertility nurse in CRGW.

Since starting in fertility in 2019 I have found a special interest in gamete donation and became the sperm donor co-ordinator for the clinic. Supporting sperm donors through the process has been a very rewarding aspect of my job and to then see how these altruistic donations have created families has been a full circle experience for me. I also complete embryo transfers for patients and my goal in the future is ensure that the whole nursing team acquire this clinical skill. I am currently embarking on my nurse prescriber course and look forward to bringing this independent prescribing skill to our patients particularly in our satellite clinical settings. I recently completed a HYCOSY course in St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, the hope is to set up this nurse led HYCOSY service within the clinic in the near future.

I now work as a nurse lead for the CARE Cardiff clinic and thoroughly enjoy my role empowering junior nurses and ensuring they have all the opportunities to enhance their clinical knowledge. I would describe myself as a compassionate nurse that approaches fertility care holistically and ensures that patient centred care is always at the heart of my decision making. I continuously look for opportunities to develop my clinical skills with the aim always being to improve patient care.

I feel very excited and privileged to join the fertility nursing forum committee in 2024 and help to continue the passionate approach to empower and educate fertility nurses so that we are able to provide the best care outcomes for our patients.

Niki Konsta

Head of Nursing at King’s Fertility

Niki is a Midwifery graduate with 15 years of experience as a Fertility Midwife having worked in several clinics both within and outside the UK. The circle of life begins at conception and Niki feels privileged to be working in the ever evolving and rewarding field of Fertility.

Niki has a keen interest in the professional development of nurses and the development of clinical services, both of which ultimately aim to improve patient care. As such, in addition to her clinical development, she has also pursued a more managerial role and has successfully completed an M.Sc. in Heath Service Administration and Organisation. Niki is also certified by the British Fertility Society (BFS) in Pelvic Ultrasound and has a special interest in Fertility Preservation and LGBTQIA+ treatments.

In 2017 she moved from Manchester to London to join King’s Fertility as the Head of Nursing to help with her experience to set up the clinic and the nursing team. She is highly motivated and passionate with her job and strives to ensure anyone who wants to be a parent is given their best chance of success in a calm and compassionate environment. In her current role, she has had the opportunity to successfully coordinate and inspire junior nurses to enter the field of fertility and build together a fulfilling career path with the same passion and joys that she has found within this area.

She strongly believes that the role of the Fertility Nurse/Midwife is an integral part to being able to promote and deliver high quality,individualised care to the patients. As such, it is imperative that they are engaged with, and effectively represented, within the various national professional societies and bodies including the RCN. The latter has provided a wealth of opportunities in developing her career and she believes that it has much to offer to Fertility Nurses, junior and senior alike.

Niki is excited to be a member of the RCN Fertility forum steering committee and would aim to use her background to provide a platform for nurses to be proactively involved in shaping their role within the fertility sector. Her goal is to promote the engagement of Fertility Nurses /Midwives with the RCN by making all nurses/midwives feel that the forum is relevant to their needs and has value to offer.

Actively participating in numerous oragnisations, Niki is a member of the Senior Infertility Nurses Group (SING), the British Fertility Society (BFS) and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).