Kate Davies OBE is NHS England’s National Director of Health and Justice, Armed Forces and Sexual Assault Referral Centres.
Kate is Director of Commissioning for healthcare services in England for armed forces personnel and their families, veterans mental health and prosthetics; sexual assault referral centres (SARCs); healthcare services in prisons, immigration removal centres and secure children’s homes and training centres; and the development of the national liaison and diversion programme and street triage.
Her work has given focus and delivery of the Strategic Direction for Sexual Assault and Abuse Strategy (SAAS); Lifelong care for victims and survivors: 2018 – 2023, launched April 2018. She also led the review of armed forces veteran mental health commissioning and, as a result, the roll out of veteran’s mental health treatment services across England in partnership with Ministry of Defence, Armed Forces and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), also launched in April 2018.
From 1986 to 1995, Kate worked as a Probation Officer, prior to joining the NHS as Strategic Director for the Nottinghamshire County Drug and Alcohol Action Team, a post she held until 2009. She then took the role of Executive Lead for Prison, Detainee and SARCs Healthcare Commissioning for the East Midlands, before becoming a National Director in NHS England from December 2012.
During this time, Kate was also a Non-Executive Director on the National Treatment Agency Board in England, a member of the Independent Board for the Prison Drug Treatment Strategy Patel Review and acted as an Ambassador for Diversity in Public Appointments for the Public Appointments Commission. She was awarded an OBE in 2009, for services for work with disadvantaged people.
Kate has spoken at and chaired three events at Staffordshire University in the last three years, including the East Midlands Health and Justice Quality Nursing and Standards Conference and the National Conference for the Faculty for Forensic Nurses. She has also supported the work of the faculty on the development of the national requirement for quality standards for sexual assault referral services and health care in police custody.
The Award of Honorary Doctor of Staffordshire University is bestowed upon Kate is recognition of her commitment to health and social equality and acknowledges her support of the role nurses play in forensics and sexual assault as well as the work of Staffordshire University in this field.