Professor Nancy Fontaine was appointed as Chief Nurse at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in August 2018 and until April 2024 was responsible for leadership of nurses, midwives, AHPs, Pharmacists and Bio-Scientists across the Trust. 

As Director for Infection Prevention and Control and Executive lead for Quality, Safety, Patient Experience and Engagement, Nancy was responsible for guiding the board on clinical priorities.

From 2012 – July 2018 Nancy was Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive at Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in Harlow. Nancy was appointed as one of the country’s first Consultant Nurses in Emergency Medicine in 1999 and was latterly Chief Nurse at Whipps Cross Hospital leading the organisation into the Barts Health merger, where she was also appointed Deputy Chief Nurse before her move to Harlow.

Nancy was appointed as the Chief Nurse and Board lead for Quality and Safety and the Director for Infection Prevention and Control at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in November 2012; in January 2015 Nancy was appointed as Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director for Organisational Development.

Nancy was awarded the position of Professor of Nursing at both Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Essex with a focus on enhancing research and innovation at the bedside for Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health, in order to improve patient outcomes. She is the Chair of Nursing Research Unit at Anglia Ruskin University and is a driver nationally for promoting doctoral development and research for nursing, midwifery and allied health.