Natalie Hayes is the CNIO of St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. During the first wave of covid, Natalie started to use more digital systems to manage her patients, such as blood glucose & insulin pump downloads, two-way messaging, video clinics and so on. This is when she started to really see the benefits of digital transformation in healthcare and actively began progressing her digital nursing journey. Shortly afterwards, the CNIO post was advertised, and Natalie was successful in her application.

Natalie Trained in 2006 in her local Trust and worked initially on the Acute Medical unit before moving to intensive care at the Liverpool Heart and Chest hospital. Natalie then moved back to St Helens doing research. She studied for her Master’s in nursing, whilst rising through the ranks as a diabetic specialist nurse and being a new mum. Natalie is an active member of the CDLN and is key to many other digital leader’s networks around the country.