Executive Director of Nursing and Quality at Sheffield Children’s receives OBE

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is proud to announce that our Executive Director for Nursing and Quality, Professor Sally Shearer, has received an OBE.

Sally recently celebrated 40 years of service in the NHS, qualifying as a Registered Nurse 23 years ago. During this time Sally has worked tirelessly to provide a strong leadership and a voice for nurses.

Sally joined Sheffield Children’s in 2015, and has been a compassionate advocate for children and their families, leading on quality and patient safety for Sheffield Children’s as well as being our Chief Nurse and professional lead for Allied Health Professionals . She was integral to Sheffield Children’s achieving a ‘good’ rating for our services through the 2019 CQC inspection and has been a key driving force in developing nurses of the future, allowing her to make an impact on the care received by tens of thousands of children each year.

Sarah Jones, Chair of Sheffield Children’s, said: “On behalf of everyone at Sheffield Children’s I’d like to say a huge congratulations to Sally. Thank you Sally, for your hard work and for everything you have done for our children and young people. Also, thank you for being such a strong advocate for nurses and colleagues across the Trust. Under your profession leadership we have flourished and we are honoured to have you here at Sheffield Children’s.”  

Sally’s influence spreads far beyond Sheffield Children’s, having impacts locally, regionally and nationally. At a national level, through her role as Chair of the Association of Chief Children’s Nurses, her membership of the Children’s Alliance (the collaboration of children’s hospitals across the country) and her new Visiting Professorship at Sheffield Hallam University, Sally’s work is having a wide influence on current and future children’s nurses.

Professor Sally Shearer OBE said: “I am stunned and absolutely over the moon! It was a complete shock to learn that I have been chosen to receive an OBE. I am deeply honoured that my career has been recognised in this way as nursing means so much to me. I am so very proud that this has been awarded during the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, how fabulous is that!”

Within Sheffield, Sally has been a trustee of The Children’s Hospital Charity and plays an active role in the Sheffield Accountable Care Partnership (ACP), which brings together partners from across health, social care, the voluntary sector and academia to help improve the health and wellbeing of people across the city. She leads workstreams related to children and advocated for children’s health to be considered as part of the city’s strategy. Sally is also actively involved in our regional partnership, the Integrated Care System (ICS), also known as South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Health and Care Working Together.

Before coming to Sheffield, Sally previously managed children and young people’s acute and community services in London and Nottingham.