Keynote: David McWilliams

Professor of Critical Care and Rehabilitation and Clinical Academic Physiotherapist at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire and Coventry University's Centre for Care Excellence

David McWilliams is a Professor of Critical Care and Rehabilitation and Clinical Academic Physiotherapist at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire and Coventry University's Centre for Care Excellence. He is the chair of the physiotherapy working group for the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, and Chair for the Intensive Care Society National Rehabilitation Collaborative.

David was a member of the guideline development group for the NICE guideline ‘Critical Illness rehabilitation’ and recently led an NCEPOD study of rehabilitation and recovery after critical illness. David is recognised as an international expert on critical care physiotherapy and rehabilitation, regularly presenting both nationally and internationally on the subject.

For a summary of David's session, click here.

Keynote: Rosalind Searle

Chair in Human Resource Management and Organisational Psychology at the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School

Rosalind H. Searle (University of Glasgow - Schools - Adam Smith Business School - Our staff - Professor Rosalind Searle) holds the chair in Human Resource Management and Organisational Psychology at the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School, in Scotland, UK and founding director of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology’s Impact Incubator (www.Eawopimpact.org). She is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Science (FASS), the British Psychological Society (BPS), the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), the Royal Society of Arts, and an academic fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development (CIPD).

Her research includes study of health professionals counterproductive work behaviours, especially sexual misconduct and theft behaviours, and factors relating to organisational trust and distrust. Her reports for the Professional Standards Authority – bad apples, and the moral mindsets of sexual perpetrators – have lead to new perspectives on professional misconduct.

She is a co-editor for a forthcoming book on Doctor on doctor sexual harassment and abuse. She sits on the Royal College of Surgeons (England) working party on sexual misconduct in surgery, and NHS (England)’s working party on domestic and sexual violence.

For a summary of Rosalind's session, click here.

Keynote: Simon Noel

Deputy Chief Nursing Information Officer, NHSE

Simon first started working in adult intensive care in 1989, first in the ICU at Warwick Hospital, and then moving to the John Radcliffe in Oxford in 1994, becoming Charge Nurse in 2001 and then taking on the role as ICU Patient Information System Manager in 2002. From 2009 he moved to work with NHSBT on the electronic transfusion development, also working close with EPR providers to embed the electronic transfusion process into patient record systems.

In 2017, Simon became the first Chief Nursing Information Officer (CNIO) in Oxford, providing leadership and a nursing voice to effective electronic patient record deployment. In 2021 he took on a national role with the Digital Health CNIO Advisory Panel where he later served as its chair for two years. Since February 2025, Simon has been Deputy CNIO at NHS England, using his experience to further help shape and support Digital Nursing at a national level.

For a summary of Simon's session, click here.

Keynote: Kathleen M Vollman MSN, RN, CCNS, FCCM, FCNS, FAAN

Ms Vollman is a Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist and Consultant. She has published & lectured nationally and internationally on a variety of pulmonary, critical care, prevention of health care acquired injuries including pressure injury and CAUTI/CLABSI’s and other HAI’s, work culture and sepsis recognition & management.

She serves as a subject matter expert on these topics for the American Hospital Association and Michigan Hospital Association. From 1989 to 2003 she functioned in the role of Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Medical ICU’s at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit Michigan. 

Currently her company, ADVANCING NURSING LLC, is focused on creating empowered work environments for healthcare practitioners through the acquisition of better skills, attainment of greater knowledge, and implementation of process improvement. www.vollman.com

Notable Inductions and Appointments:

• College of Critical Care Medicine (2004)
• American Academy of Nurses (2009)
• CNS Institute (2019) 
• Appointed to serve as an honorary ambassador to the World Federation of Critical Care Nurses
• President: World Federation of Critical Care Nurses (2023-2025)
• Board of Directors NPIAP (2023 to present)

For a summary of Kathleen's session, click here.

Past BACCN National Chairs

Nicki Credland is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Teesside, England, UK.

Nicki is a Fellow of the British Association of Critical Care (BACCN) after a six-year term of office as Chair of the organisation. She is now Chair of the UK Critical Care Nursing Alliance (UKCCNA). Nicki is a nurse advisor to the Department of Health Adult Critical Care Clinical Reference Group and is a specialist advisor in critical care nursing to National Health Service England. Nicki has significant experience and impact in education holding a Principal Fellowship of Advanced HE and was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2022. She was appointed Director for Education at the NHS Nightingale Hospital Yorkshire and the Humber during the Covid pandemic.

Her national leadership over the pandemic was recognised by the Intensive Care Society with an “Outstanding Leadership” award.

Nicki is an experienced critical care nurse working both in intensive care and critical care outreach. She has extensive experience of publication and conference presentation, speaks widely about the critical care nursing workforce, and has contributed to a number of position statements and key documents around these issues. She is an associate editor for the ‘Nursing in Critical Care’ journal and sits on the editorial board for RCNi journals.

Nicki will join other Past Chairs for our Critical Care Countdown, a high-energy, knowledge-driven quiz tailored for today’s critical care nursing workforce. - view the session details here

Communities of Practice - Informatics / Digital

Petro Bekker: Clinical Informatics Manager & Clinical Digital Safety Officer

With over 36 years of experience as a Registered Nurse, Petro worked in diverse healthcare settings in South Africa and England. Having emigrated to the UK from South Africa in 1999, working as an Advanced Nurse Practioner in Emergency care she transitioned to a specialised role in Surgical and Critical Care Nursing in the UK.

Her passion for innovation and technology led to a pivotal role in 2012, when she was seconded from Critical Care to the digital department to lead on the implementation of a new critical care electronic clinical system.

Recognising the impact of healthcare informatics, she transitioned to the Digital Team permanently in 2014, becoming the first Clinical Informatics Nurse at Wigan, Wrightington and Leigh Teaching Hospital NHS Trust. Over the years, she has continued to evolve in this field and currently work as the Clinical Informatics Manager using her extensive clinical experience to drive meaningful advancements in healthcare technology.

In addition to her managerial role in clinical informatics, she is also a Clinical Safety Officer, where her team is dedicated to ensuring the highest standards of patient safety within the digital healthcare landscape.

David Maloney: Senior Clinical Informatics Nurse & Digital Clinical Safety Officer

David has 26 years of experience as a registered nurse, qualifying in Scotland. His passion for education and research has taken him abroad to Africa in 2007 for 3yrs, where he was teaching nursing and contributing to impactful initiatives, working with a multidisciplinary team from across the globe. He has been working in England since 2010, with a diverse background in Research, Surgical and Critical Care Nursing.

David’s journey in 2015 has led him to the specialty of clinical informatics, at Wigan, Wrightington and Leigh Teaching Hospital NHS Trust where he works as a specialist nurse, using his diverse clinical experience to drive advancements in healthcare technology and informatics.

His commitment to patient safety is reflected in his role as a clinical safety officer, where as part of a wider team he helps to ensure the highest standards of digital safety and quality in healthcare delivery.

Petra and David will be running the Community of Practice session on Informatics and Digital - see session details here