The Scottish Government has officially announced the appointment of Professor Aisha Holloway as the new chief nursing officer for Scotland, as exclusively revealed by Nursing Times last week.
Professor Holloway is currently chair of nursing studies at the University of Edinburgh and co-director of the Edinburgh Global Nursing Initiative.
“It’s a huge privilege to be appointed as the new chief nursing officer for Scotland”
Aisha Holloway
She is also programme director for the Nursing Now Challenge global initiative and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in the US.
The Scottish Government said in a statement today that Professor Holloway would take up the national CNO role in November, following an external recruitment process.
It noted that, as CNO, she would have professional responsibility for the nursing workforce, professional leadership and advice on healthcare associated infection and antimicrobial resistance.
The CNO directorate, which she will lead, also includes professional responsibility for the midwifery, allied health professions and healthcare science workforce.
In addition, it provides policy advice for ministers on a wide range of health-related policy areas including professional healthcare regulation.
At present, the CNO role is held on an interim basis by Anne Armstrong. Ms Armstong was appointed on an interim basis in April last year, having previously been deputy chief nursing officer.
Previous incumbent, Professor Alex McMahon, retired from the CNO role in the same month in 2024, having served in the national post since December 2021.
In today’s statement, Scottish health secretary Neil Gray said: “I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to Professor Holloway on her appointment as chief nursing officer.”
He added: “With 30 years’ research experience in the fields of alcohol-related harm, public health and workforce, and a strong focus on health policy, she will play a key role in our plans to improve the NHS in the coming years.
“Her national and international experience will help focus our efforts to ensure that people across Scotland will continue to access the right care, in the right place,” he said.
“I would also like to express my thanks to Anne Armstrong for her support and service in the interim and look forward to continuing to work with her as she returns to deputy chief nursing officer.”
Professor Holloway said: “It’s a huge privilege to be appointed as the new chief nursing officer for Scotland.
“The challenge ahead is great, but one that requires a clear and unwavering focus on improving the health of the people of Scotland.
“Those that constitute the NHS health and social care workforce across sectors, have always been the beating heart of this most beloved institution.
“They must be valued and respected as their contribution, knits together the very fabric of our society and wellbeing.
“The work we must do now together, will address not only the current demands we face but is an investment into the health of future generations.
“I very much look forward to working in meaningful and inclusive ways, to fulfil our full potential, to influence and to impact health outcomes across Scotland.”
Professor Holloway has held several government and non-government advisory and executive board roles in the UK and overseas.
She was a member of the State of the World’s Nursing Steering Committee and recently spent a year as a consultant at the World Health Organization in Geneva.
The government highlighted that the CNO role was advertised via a “fair and open” external process, chaired by a civil service commissioner, in accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.
