The UK’s leading figure in nursing has visited Northumbria University to discuss current issues in the sector.

Dr Peter Carter OBE, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), met with Northumbria’s nursing students to deliver a talk on professional nursing in the future, and took questions from the audience following the event.

The RCN is the world’s largest professional union of nurses, with over 400,000 members. Prior to taking up his current role with the RCN eight years ago, Dr Carter was Chief Executive of the Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust. He began his career with the NHS by training as a psychiatric nurse.

During his visit, he had a tour of Northumbria’s biomedical sciences facilities and the specialist sport and exercise laboratories at the University’s £30m Sport Central.

Dr Carter said:  “I was very impressed with the calibre of the students that I met at Northumbria – these are next generation of nurses and it bodes well for the future of nursing. The enthusiasm and commitment of the students was equally matched by the enthusiasm and commitment of their educators. The University’s educational facilities were truly outstanding and, in fact, world-class. I had a thoroughly enjoyable visit and I wish Northumbria ongoing and continued success.”

Professor Kath McCourt, Executive Dean of Health and Life Sciences at Northumbria, said “We are delighted to welcome Dr Carter to the University. He is an exceptional leader in nursing who has led the profession through many challenges. This visit, as well as his previous visits, shows how much he holds the education of new nurses in high esteem, as well as providing a fantastic opportunity for our students to learn from a leading expert in this field.”

Northumbria was the first university in the UK to be accredited by the RCN. The accolade was given for its pre-registration nursing programmes, which cover all four branches of nursing: adult, child, mental health and learning disability.

In 2014, students voted Northumbria the UK’s Nurse Education Provider of the Year: Post-Registration, for the third year running at the Student Nursing Times Awards.