Deirdre O'Brien RGN, RM, MBA, DMCert Introduction of the Florence Elliott Lecture

Florence Eileen Elliott was born on 6 October 1905 in Randalstown. She qualified as a registered nurse in 1930 from the Royal, she undertook midwifery training in Edinburgh and worked there as midwifery Sister for a number of years. In 1943 she was invited to apply for a post as Matron of Whiteabbey Sanatorium. There, with her innovative approach, she introduced affiliated nurse training, in association with Belfast City Hospital. In 1946, Florence Elliott became Matron of the Royal Victoria Hospital. She was the first Royal trained nurse to do so and the first Ulsterwoman to hold the post. In 1948, she guided the hospital nursing service into the complex and rapidly changing world of the NHS. She would feel very at home today in the fast changing NHS of current times.