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Hanna Kaur

Forum Chair

Hanna qualified as a Registered Nurse in 2000. Post registration she undertook training for Intensive Care Nursing and worked in a number of Intensive Care / Cardiac-thoracic Care Units. She then moved to do some various Occupational Health roles. Prior to undertaking nurse training Hanna worked with children, including spending 18 months in India.  

Hanna ran a busy TB Service in a London Borough, but since 2012 Hanna has been working as the Lead TB Nurse for Birmingham and Solihull. Hanna has an interest in reaching out to the underserved population, and has worked with the Homeless Pathway Project Team, to prevent homelessness in those suffering from TB.

Hanna represents the forum for TB on a number of national groups e.g. Joint TB Committee and British Association of Pediatric TB. Hanna is also a clinical advisor (Nursing) on the BTS MDR-TB forum and NICE Expert panel. 

Tracey Cooke

Tracey began her nurse training in 1981, she is both RGN and RMN trained with a degree in Occupational Health Nursing and has a broad range of experience both in the public and private sector and has worked in the occupational health field for thirty years. She has a special interest in mental health in the working environment. and has worked with various mental health professionals in supporting employees in work. She now works as an independent occupational health consultant/practitioner.

Tracey has been twice published in the Occupational Health Journal writing about her experiences in relation to confidentiality and record keeping. She is passionate about educating the future generation of occupational health nurses and has been a practice teacher, and is also a practice assessor - previously with Leeds Beckett, now Derby University - working with post-graduate occupational health students.

Tracey joined the RCN Public Health Forum Committee in 2019 to raise the public health agenda in relation to the working population and population at large working with fellow public health professionals.

Luke Evans

Health and Care Partnerships Lead – Richmond and Wandsworth Council

Luke qualified as a nurse in 2012 and has completed his Professional Diploma in Tropical Nursing and his Masters in Global Public Health. He’s been been published several times in the British Journal of Nursing and Primary Care Nursing journals. He has worked on various public health initiatives such as on the national team leading the Innovation for Health Inequalities Programme (InHIP) and performed a review of Health and Wellbeing roles within the NHS.

Luke is currently working as a Health and Care Partnerships Lead at Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, working with clinical, professional, political organisations to deliver the health and wellbeing board strategy for its residents and address health inequalities.

Luke has joined the RCN Public Health Forum Committee in 2024 to raise awareness on the value of nurses working at system level, enabling them to work towards the prevention of ill health in populations and improve health outcomes.

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Janet Frimpong

Team LeaderÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥“ Senior Specialist OH Nurse Practitioner, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Janet qualified as a nurse in 1994, with over 25years experience in medical, surgical, womenÃÛÌÒÖ±²¥™s health and cardiac nursing before embarking on a career in Occupational Health. She completed her BSc SCPHN OH Nursing degree at Brunel University, in 2011.  Janet has been working in an OH setting for over 15 years, in both private and public sector. Her current interest is in health and wellbeing of the working population; looking at mental wellness, obesity and menopause. 

As an OH nurse, the Government's Public Health agenda underpins her knowledge, skills and experience when dealing with a range of clients within her specialty. 

Janet has been a member of the Public Health Forum since 2009, Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) since 2013 and IOH previously Association of OH Nurse Practitioner (AOHNP) since 2012.

Helen Kirk

Helen is a specialist Public Health Nurse with a background in occupational health. Helen has held senior roles in the NHS, PHE, and DHSC. Her current work is focused on quality improvement, service accreditation, and professional development.

She has been leading work on ‘Growing Occupational Health’, the nursing response to Long Covid, and reducing health inequalities in maternity and working with NMC on post-registration standards.

She is a Fellow of the American Association of OH Nurses and an alumna of the International Council of Nurses’ Global Nurse Leadership Institute. Helen’s research has focused on nursing development including executive nurse leadership and advanced practice.

Mary McHugh

Mary has been a qualified nurse since 1989, working in a number of specialties, such as medical, surgical, ITU and oncology.

In 2012, Mary completed a work place health certificate and post graduate qualification in occupational health. Since then, she has worked in a variety of organisations and settings.

Mary is currently working for 2 organisations: A college and an oil and gas company. She enjoys both roles, as it allows her to compare the public and private sector, and the challenges/rewards that each employment presents.

Mary has an interest in women's health, and has been active in promoting menopause support in each organisation. Mary also joined the School of Medicine (SOM) mentorship programme, to support nurses considering moving into occupational health. 

Julia Waldron

Head of Nursing and Governance

Julia began her nursing career at just sixteen years of age, completing a cadet nurse apprenticeship at Lincoln County Hospital. Completing her nursing degree at the University of Nottingham in 2006 and returning to Lincoln County Hospital as a registered general nurse in its urology and general surgery department.

In 2009 Julia moved into prison healthcare, having spent most of her career working in this diverse but rewarding area of specialist clinical practice. Moving into national roles including deputy national lead nurse for health in justice in 2017 and then the head of primary care in 2020. During this time Julia has used her roles to develop the awareness around public health within the services she has been leading, including the role development of specialist practitioner dedicated to work within secure settings.

During her time working in health and Justice, Julia was the nursing lead for the Practice Plus Group project that has supported the elimination of Hepatitis-C across multiple prisons, and a leading part of the team that pioneered person-centred care which focusses on the particular needs of people in secure environments. 

Julia is delighted to be a newly appointed member of the committee.