Laura Serrant is one of only six Black Professors of Nursing in the UK. She has often found herself as the sole voice representing nurses and minority communities and has used that position to empower others.. She has also been appointed to a prestigious role with the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). member of the Independent Advisory Group to the UK government on Black and minority ethnic issues, she was a key influencer in the development of the first national strategy for sexual health and HIV for England 2001.Her work has been recognised with numerous awards and prizes, including Queen’s Nurse status and Fellowship of the Queens Nursing Institute. In 2014, she was named as one of the top 50 leaders in the UK by The Health Services Journal in three separate categories, which were: Inspirational Women in Healthcare, BME Pioneers and Clinical Leaders. She works with researchers and policy makers in Europe, Brazil, Canada, USA, and the Caribbean. Professor Serrant has an extensive publication record including book contributions, journal articles, editorials and critical discussion papers, as well as experience in media work, public speaking, and workshop facilitation. In 2018, Serrant was appointed as the Head of the School of Nursing at Manchester Metropolitan University, becoming the only Black head of nursing in UK Universities. In 2018, she was appointed as Head of the School of Nursing at Manchester Metropolitan University becoming the only Black Head of Nursing in the UK’s universities.
1963
Nottingham, England
British Dominican
1986-
Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in nursing, Sheffield City Polytechnic
2010-
Appointed to Prime Minister’s commission for the review of Nursing and Midwifery by the Department of Health
2014-
Named one of the top 50 leaders in the UK by the Health Services Journal in three separate categories
May 2016 to November 2018-
Professor of Nursing, Sheffield Hallam University
2017-
Awarded an honorary doctorate
2017-
Appointed as Chair of the BME Strategic Advisory Group for NHS England
Recognised in the 2018 Powerlist as the eighth most influential Black person in the UK
Florence Nightingale Honour
2018-
Queen’s Birthday Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to health policy,
Appointed as Head of the School of Nursing at Manchester Metropolitan University
April 2018 to August 2019-
Non-executive director of Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust
Serrant was born in Nottingham in 1963, the daughter of John and Eudora Serrant. She was not only the first in her family to attend university, but also one of the first nurses to qualify through a degree, graduating in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Nursing from Sheffield City Polytechnic.
Serrant has specialised in sexual and reproductive health since the HIV and AIDS pandemic struck in the early 1990s. Her work includes research into working with sex workers, alcohol and drug dependent individuals, as well as tackling attitudes towards HIV and AIDS. This is complemented by work on policy development nationally and internationally, with an emphasis on racial inequalities and cultural safety.
In 2017 the then Chief Nursing Officer Jane Cummings appointed Serrant as Chair of the BME Strategic Advisory Group for NHS England. Serrant has held several posts, having previously been Professor of Community and Public Health Nursing at the University of Wolverhampton and Head of Evidence and Strategy in the Nursing Directorate of NHS England. She was also a Non-executive Director of Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust from April 2018 to August 2019. From May 2016 to November 2018, she also served as Professor of Nursing at Sheffield Hallam University.
In 2018, Serrant was appointed as the Head of the School of Nursing at Manchester Metropolitan University becoming the only Black head of nursing in UK Universities.
Chair of the BME Strategic Advisory Group for NHS England
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to health policy
Serrant has appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme Great Lives, where she nominated poet and activist Audre Laurde as deserving of the title of having lived a ‘Great Life’. A poem written by Serrant was included in Windrush, a theatre production which toured the UK in 2018.
https://www.mmu.ac.uk/hpsc/news-and-media/news/story/?id=11815
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Serrant
Nursing professor named among UK’s most influential black people
https://www.abertay.ac.uk/life/alumni-and-supporters/honorary-graduates/professor-laura-serrant/
Nurse academic recognised as one of profession’s ‘most accomplished leaders’
https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/centres-institutes/centre-for-health-policy/news-and-events
https://www.mmu.ac.uk/hpsc/
https://www.shu.ac.uk/research/specialisms/health-and-social-care-research/news/focus-on-professor-laura-serrant
