Ruth May (nurse)

Dame Ruth May (born 1967) is a British nurse who served as Chief Nursing Officer for England from 2019 until 2024. She began with a variety of nursing posts, became a theatre sister at Frimley Park Hospital, and moved into senior management as acting director of nursing at Barnet Hospital and then director of nursing at Havering Primary Care Trust. She was chief executive of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn and of Mid-Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, and later executive director of nursing at NHS Improvement. As Chief Nursing Officer she was prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic and led the Stop the Pressure campaign against pressure ulcers. She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2022 for services to nursing, midwifery and the NHS.