Jane Cummings is the Chief Nursing Officer at NHS England.  She is the professional lead for nurses and midwives in England and she will oversee quality improvements in patient safety and experience.   She was previously Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive of NHS North of England. Her responsibilities there included the development and maintenance of new systems of performance management and strategic leadership for nursing. She was also the lead director for the Quality Framework.    Prior to this she was the national lead for emergency care and in January 2005 she became the National Implementation Director for ‘Choice’ and ‘Choose and Book’. She has worked as a nurse for a number of years, specialising in emergency care and holding a variety of clinical and managerial roles including director of commissioning and director of nursing.