The University of Edinburgh’s Chair of Nursing Studies has been appointed as the Scottish government’s new Chief Nursing Officer. 

Professor Aisha Holloway will take up the post of Scotland’s Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) this November. 

She will take the reins from current interim Officer Anne Armstrong, who took over the role from Alex McMahon when he retired in April 2024.  

The role will see Professor Holloway work with nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and healthcare scientists within the NHS to advise Scottish ministers and shape policy. 

She will have professional responsibility for some of the biggest challenges facing the nursing workforce including advising on healthcare associated infection and antimicrobial resistance. 

She said the new appointment is a “huge privilege”, and she looks forward to working with staff across health and care to improve health across 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 co-founded and is co-director of the Edinburgh Global Nursing Initiative, which collaborates with health and academic leaders across the world to advance innovation and improve health policy. 

Alongside her university position, she currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in the US and is the Programme Director for the Nursing Now Challenge.  

She has led research and advocacy work on global public health and alcohol-related harms, and uplifting nursing’s influence on health policy. 

She has held several government and non-government advisory and executive board roles in the UK and overseas, including as a member of the State of the World’s Nursing Steering Committee. 

Professor Holloway recently spent a year as a Consultant at the World Health Organisation in Geneva, advising specifically on nursing workforce needs.

She is also a fellow of both the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Surgeons.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said:

“I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to Professor Holloway on her appointment as Chief Nursing Officer. 

“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. 

“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.” 

The Director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland, Colin Poolman, also welcomed the appointment, saying she played a “key role” in developing the recommendations of the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce and will now help deliver on them: 

“I would like to congratulate Professor Holloway on her appointment. A leader in the global nursing community, her appointment comes at a time when our profession faces many challenges across health and social care. 

“I, and the wider RCN team, are looking forward to working with Professor Holloway to ensure the nursing profession in Scotland has the support it deserves.”

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