Julie Gray, who has been Chief Nurse at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre since October 2021, has decided to retire in March 2026 after more than 35 years of NHS service.
During her time at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Julie has had a real focus on quality of care, infection prevention and control, safe nurse staffing levels, clinical governance and embedding meaningful Freedom To Speak Up.
She has transformed the way we measure and share patient safety and experience data, driving the introduction of our internal quality accreditation scheme, CCCare, which has been successfully rolled out across all our wards. She also introduced regular walkarounds ensuring that the Board of Directors, Non-Executive Directors and Governors were able to hear patient, carer and staff views on quality of care and for them to raise any concerns they might have.
After qualifying in 1993 from Salford and Bolton School of Nursing and Midwifery, Julie's career began with her working as a staff nurse in gastroenterology, intensive care, adult medicine and general surgery. Always passionate about nurse education and professional development, Julie spent the next few years as a clinical tutor before making a move into specialist oncology in 2005 when she joined The Christie.
She was The Christie’s Director of Nursing and Infection Prevention and Control before joining The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in October 2021 as Chief Nurse and clinical lead for our nursing and allied health professionals.
Speaking of her decision to retire, Julie said:
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is a fantastic organisation full of people who are totally committed to making sure patients and their families receive the very best cancer care. There really is something special about Clatterbridge – it is an organisation with a huge heart as well as clinical and non-clinical expertise, research excellence and great teamworking.
I am very proud to have been a nurse for over 35 years and have valued my time at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre but I am ready for a new adventure where I can spend more time with family and friends. I am looking forward to what the future holds.
Chief Executive Joan Spencer said:
Julie has made an outstanding contribution to The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. She has always championed the needs of our patients, has been a real advocate for our nursing and allied health professional colleagues, and is a fantastic colleague.
We are going to miss her hugely – she has been a key part of our Executive Team and I have very much enjoyed working with her. I know that all of us at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre will wish her a long and happy retirement.
Julie’s last working day at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre will be Friday 27 March 2026. The process of appointing her successor will be announced in due course.
