Our Team - ARNS

Executive Board Members

Alison Hughes

ARNS Chair

Alison qualified as an RGN in 1992 and has had a variety of roles in this time but predominately has worked within primary care since 1997. Her passion for respiratory nursing started as a practice nurse which started after completing her asthma diploma. Since then respiratory has been the mainstay of her career and she now have the luxury of specialising in this field.

Alison has a unique job role which involves educating primary care staff, within her local CCG, including GPs, practice nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists regarding respiratory care. This enables her to have a strong relationship with secondary care consultants and is a link between the different’ worlds’ of secondary and primary care by helping either side to understand how the other works. She also works as the lead respiratory nurse within a long-term conditions hub looking at diagnosis and management of complex patients. Alison is a trainer for spirometry and regularly runs courses in her local area. She also runs a local respiratory interest group.

Alison has been a member of ARNS for several years and became an executive committee member in 2016 and vice chair in 2019. She now represents ARNS on the National Respiratory Programme – early and accurate diagnosis working group and the spirometry scrutiny board.

Joanne King

ARNS Vice Chair

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Joanne qualified in 1991 and has been a senior nurse at Frimley Health (formerly Heatherwood & Wexham Park) NHS Trust for 23 years in a variety of acute roles. She took up the role as respiratory nurse specialist in 2008 before obtaining a Consultant Nurse post in 2016.

Joanne has restructured the respiratory services in Berkshire East to form The Adult Integrated Respiratory Service or AIR team providing respiratory services across primary and secondary care, integrating community and hospital trusts in providing a seamless journey to the patient. The service offers expertise to patients with COPD, Asthma, ILD, and home oxygen needs, Bronchiectasis, specialist physiotherapy and provides pulmonary rehabilitation including maintenance classes and singing for lung health. As clinical lead her current role is to provide support, guidance, management and clinical leadership whilst developing services in respiratory care in both acute and primary care sectors.

Joanne has obtained qualifications in Asthma, COPD and spirometry as well as being a non-medical prescriber. She has also received a BSc (Hons) in Nurse Practitioner Studies from Buckinghamshire University and an MSc in Clinical Health Care from Oxford Brookes University.

Joanne is the ARNS Vice Chair. She is also a member of the National Asthma and COPD Audit programme Board and the COPD / Pulmonary Rehabilitation advisory group. She is a committee member of the Service Development Committee, PCRS UK and chairs the respiratory forum and specialist nursing group.

Joanne was awarded respiratory Nurse Leader at ARNS in 2018.

Sarah Kearney

ARNS Treasurer

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I have worked as a Respiratory Nurse Specialist on the Isle of Wight since 1998. I jointly manage the respiratory department, share clinical leadership with our consultant and work closely with the CCG lead GP to lead a local respiratory network. I had my post ‘badged’ by the BLF in August 2010 and my clinical work is almost entirely in the community supporting patients to stay at home and developing self-management plans. I am the service lead for home oxygen and assessment and see patients for both assessment and review; follow up visits after acute admissions and provide palliative care. I lead a small multi- disciplinary team whose main focus is COPD and pulmonary rehabilitation, although we see any non-malignant respiratory disease.

In 2010 I worked for one day a week with South Central SHA as a clinical fellow, supporting Maxine Hardinge on the National Strategy and sat on the regional respiratory board. I recently participated as an assessor for the RCP pulmonary rehabilitation accreditation pilot project.

I have been a member of ARNS for many years and joined the Executive Committee in 2016.