2nd December 2021
The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) is delighted to announce three new honorary Fellows and the launch of its 2021 annual report, detailing the progress and many highlights of the iHV over the last year.
Katy Tuncer, Professor Helen Bedford and Professor Sally Kendall MBE all received an honorary Fellowship of the Institute of Health Visiting at yesterday’s highly successful Leadership Conference. Honorary Fellowship is a mark of the high esteem in which those awarded it are held by the Institute’s board.
Katy Tuncer’s honorary Fellowship had been held over from 2019 and is awarded in recognition of her ongoing support for our work over the years and for her generosity towards us in passing on Ready Steady Mums; Professor Helen Bedford’s Honorary Fellowship is in gratitude for her support and wisdom to the Institute over the years but her award had been delayed by the impacts of the pandemic; and Professor Sally Kendall’s Honorary Fellowship is in recognition of her key contributions as one of the original four founders of the iHV, alongside Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Professor Ros Bryar and Professor Dame Sarah Cowley, to the founding and growth of the fledgling Institute into what it is today.
Katy Tuncer with her honorary iHV Fellowship
Katy Tuncer is an entrepreneur and leadership coach, who has had a distinguished career, initially in the army, then the Metropolitan police, before working as a consultant in the sports industry when her path first crossed with that of Cheryll Adams. Most recently, Katy has been working as an executive-level coach to system leaders whilst developing new tools to support them. Katy is also the mother of four young sons. The board unanimously agreed that Katy was a very worthy recipient of the Institute’s award of Honorary Fellowship. Katy remains connected with the work of the Institute, and we are currently exploring opportunities to revamp the Ready Steady Mums programme in 2022 when we hope that there will be more confidence for re-establishing new groups and re-launching those that were stopped during the pandemic – we are delighted that many Ready Steady Mums groups have carried on meeting throughout the last 20 months as walking and meeting with other parents in the fresh air have been so beneficial.
Professor Helen Bedford with her honorary iHV Fellowship
Professor Helen Bedford is Professor of Child Health in the Population, Policy and Practice department of the Institute of Child Health at UCL and Great Ormond Street. Helen is an academic health visitor and one of the country’s leading experts on childhood vaccination and the determinants of vaccine uptake as well as on other child public health issues. Helen is also the chair of the national PCHR (red book) committee – this is a multi-disciplinary committee chaired by Helen and hosted by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Helen has acted as the Institute’s advisor on immunisation and child health developments such as the e-red book. In particular, Helen has been the Institute’s rapid source of evidence-based advice when it is needed for press statements and new developments. With the retirement of Professor Sally Kendall from the iHV board in 2020, the Institute was delighted to welcome Helen into her place as a trustee in 2021 with a particular portfolio for research.
Professor Sally Kendall MBE with her honorary iHV Fellowship
Sally, a health visitor and researcher was one of the four founders of the Institute alongside Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Professor Ros Bryar and Professor Dame Sarah Cowley. Sally a rare academic health visitor, moved into research thirty years ago, initially taking up an academic role, Chair and then working as Associate Dean at the University of Hertfordshire, and more recently at the University of Kent as Professor of Community Nursing and Public Health. Sally’s current research interests are focused on parenting and its impact on child health, both in the UK and internationally. Following her numerous contributions to the planning and launch of the Institute of Health Visiting, Sally joined the new Board as one of its first Trustees. She served on the board for eight years, actively contributing expertise from her extensive research career, and her particular interests in parenting and infant feeding and as a passionate health visitor.
Pamela Goldberg OBE, Chair – Institute of Health Visiting:
“It was an honour and a privilege to welcome our three new Honorary Fellows Katy, Helen and Sally at the end of our conference. These awards are only made to those individuals who have made an exceptional contribution, not only to the iHV but to the profession of health visiting and the families we serve.“
The 2021 iHV annual report was also published yesterday. It follows the most extraordinary year for health visitors and the Institute of Health Visiting. The ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside longstanding challenges facing the health visiting profession, formed the backdrop of 2021, the effects of which have touched all our lives.
Alison Morton, Executive Director iHV said:
“The achievements highlighted in this year’s annual report testify to the hard work of the iHV team, our ever-growing network of partner organisations and supporters, volunteers, members and parents who have shared our journey. I would like to thank all of you personally, and on behalf of the iHV team – we couldn’t have done it without you!“
