Tags: iHV Fellow

Congratulations iHV Fellow, Dr Ruth Oshikanlu MBE – appointed as honorary visiting professor

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) warmly congratulates health visitor, midwife and iHV Fellow, Dr Ruth Oshikanlu MBE on her appointment as an honorary visiting professor at City St George’s, University of London. This is a significant appointment and well‑deserved recognition of her longstanding contribution to community nursing.

Dr Ruth Oshikanlu MBE

A fellow of the iHV and the Royal College of Nursing, as well as a Queen’s Nurse and social entrepreneur, Dr Oshikanlu described the appointment as a rare acknowledgement of the impact and importance of community-based practice.

“Community nursing so often goes unnoticed,” she said. “This isn’t really about me – it’s a celebration of community nursing.”

Awarded an iHV Fellowship in 2015 and MBE in 2019, Dr Oshikanlu said she is passionate about using her new academic role to support the next generation of nurses and midwives, with research that is grounded in the realities of communities and focused on improving outcomes.

She is also committed to supporting Black nurses and midwives, and those from other minority ethnic backgrounds, to progress into research and leadership roles.

“Meaningful change in nursing,” she said, “requires more than policy reform alone. It’s about who is shaping those policies.”

Reflecting on her appointment, Dr Oshikanlu spoke of both her excitement and sense of responsibility:

“I was genuinely ecstatic – it’s a huge privilege to help shape the next generation,” she said. “I don’t do this work for recognition, but opportunities like this do bring responsibility.”

She explained that one of her key aims as an honorary professor is to help bridge the divide between academia, policy and politics, with a central focus on reducing health inequalities:

“Too often, the voices of marginalised communities are lost because attention is drawn to those who shout the loudest,” she said.

Dr Oshikanlu brings more than 30 years’ experience working in areas of the healthcare system that are frequently underserved. This includes being among the first group of Family Nurses in the UK, following the introduction of the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme in 2007 – an intensive home‑visiting service for young, first-time parents.

“When I was most vulnerable after a very difficult pregnancy and birth of my son prematurely, my health visitors saved me. Health Visiting and the FNP taught me that if you really want to change outcomes, you have to be present in people’s lives,” she said. “It’s slow, relational and deeply human work – and it’s exactly the type of work the NHS should be doing more of, not less.”

Alongside frontline nursing, Dr Oshikanlu has made a significant impact as an author, researcher and social entrepreneur. Her 2012 book, Tune In To Your Baby: Because Babies Don’t Come With an Instruction Manual, supported parents to better understand and respond to their babies’ cues.

As a Churchill Fellow, she also undertook international research into trauma‑responsive approaches to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and youth violence. This work was translated into a multidisciplinary toolkit designed to make evidence on ACEs and trauma‑informed practice more accessible to professionals across health, education and the voluntary sector.

Dr Oshikanlu is also a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at RCSI in Ireland. She has founded several social organisations, including Goal Mind and Abule Community Interest Company (CIC), reflecting her longstanding commitment to community wellbeing and social change.

The iHV is delighted to see health visiting and community nursing expertise recognised at this level and congratulates Dr Oshikanlu on this outstanding achievement.

iHV delighted to announce new Director

The Institute of Health Visiting is delighted to announce the appointment of their first Director, Alison Morton, who joined the Institute today as Director of Policy and Quality.

Alison Morton, Director of Policy and Quality iHV

 

 

Alison was one of the Institute’s first five Fellows. Her most recent role has been as Best Start in Life Programme Manager at Public Health England.

 

 

 

Alison commented:

“I am delighted to be joining the Institute at a time when the spotlight is once again shining on the importance of the first few years of a child’s life as a foundation for future health and wellbeing. The evidence is clear that investing in early intervention and prevention is the right thing to do if we are serious about wanting every child to achieve their potential. Yet there remain persistent, unacceptable inequalities in outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with disabilities, as well as unwarranted variation in support for children and their families dependent on where they live. These inequalities result in poorer physical and mental health, academic achievement and employment prospects throughout the life-course.

“Whilst it can be tempting to invent a ‘new wheel’ when faced with a complex set of problems across society, I strongly believe that the health visiting service provides a crucial part of the ‘solution’ for a number of government departments who fund late intervention.  Crucially, the evidence highlights the key role that the health visiting service plays in leading the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme (0-5 years), in partnership with a wide range of other agencies. I look forward to working with health visitors throughout the country and partners working in maternity and early years, as well as government departments, to strengthen the health visiting service and ensure that every child truly does have the ‘Best Start in Life’.”