Susan Oliver
Areas of specific interest include: Biologic therapies and immunology, Social and psychological issues related to long term conditions, pain management for inflammatory joint diseases, developing nursing roles to improve patient centred care, strategic and political issues related to health care delivery.
Susan is an independent nurse consultant in rheumatology who has run private clinics in Devon and London. She was professional nurse of the year in 2000 for her nurse led service and was awarded a British Healthcare Professionals in Rheumatology honorary membership in 2006, and in 2009 she was awarded an RCN Fellowship (FRCN) for her contribution to rheumatology nursing. Susan was also chief Nurse Advisor for the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society for six years and during that time undertook a project with NRAS to explore patient experience of healthcare from first presenting symptoms to three years after diagnosis.
In her independent work she has undertaken a range of projects including service re-design, project management work for the National Patient Safety Agency and The British Society for Rheumatology. She has also been involved in a number of projects including the ARMA Standards of Care, BSR guidelines and representation for guidelines development or appraisals for NICE including the Osteoarthritis Guidelines (2008) and has been invited to advise on rheumatology nursing developments internationally. She was a member of the original Department of Health Musculoskeletal Strategy Framework (2006), and a member of the 18 week musculoskeletal strategy group and the NHS institute of innovation and improvement informed decision tool exemplar for Knee surgery. She was also joint chair of the Rheumatology Futures Project in the UK alongside Ailsa Bosworth Chief Executive of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis. The Futures Forum were instrumental in the development of the Department of Health Inflammatory Arthritis Commissioning Pathway and a King’s Fund Report on the service for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
More recently she has had honorary short term contracts with a number of NHS organisations whilst working clinically and strategically on service development. In the last three years she has worked in a nurse consultant role as an adviser on modernisation for Southampton University NHS Trust and nurse consultant for Pennine Musculoskeletal Care Partnership and more recently Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. She is currently employed by Minerva Health Centre in Preston in a consultancy capacity developing a community service for rheumatology patients. She is past Chair of the Royal College of Nursing Rheumatology Forum in the UK and previous Chief Nurse Advisor for the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (2002-2009).
She has written extensively on her specific areas of interest and led a project with the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, mapping patient journeys. Editor of two books; Chronic Disease Nursing: A rheumatology example and Musculoskeletal Handbook for Nursing Handbook (2009, Oxford University Press).
