On the occasion of its 75th anniversary, NHS UK has highlighted Shirla Philogène, a St. Vincent national. Philogène was schooled in St. Vincent before moving to England in 1958 to pursue a career in nursing.
Philogène chose to work in the community nursing area of the profession after graduating.
She has worked as a district nurse, midwife, and health visitor. She has also worked as a manager and leader in the NHS’s community nursing services and with the Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen’s Family Association (SSAFA).
As SSAFA’s director of community health, Philogène was in charge of the organization’s service delivery transformation.
She earned an MSc in change management and detailed the process that led to the transition. It is available in the RCN archive.
Philogène has served as a senior nursing policy adviser at the Department of Health and was seconded as an adviser to the Ministry of Defense on market testing of their medical services in British Forces Germany.
Since her retirement, she has released two novels. The first book was about her time in the NHS.
