Maria McIlgorm

Maria McIlgorm is a Northern Irish nurse midwife and healthcare administrator who has served as the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Northern Ireland since March 2022. She previously worked for nearly 30 years in the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Scotland, holding senior roles including chief midwife/nurse for NHS Lothian and professional adviser within the Scottish Government. As CNO, McIlgorm launched a five-year strategic vision for the profession and has overseen initiatives to increase student training places and reform the use of agency nurses. In October 2023, she was also appointed an honorary professor of practice at Queen's University Belfast.

Early life and education McIlgorm was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She began her nursing training in the Republic of Ireland, working at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. In 1994, she earned an undergraduate degree in midwifery from the University of the West of England. The vision's strategy was drawn from the Nursing and Midwifery Task Group (NMTG) report and identifies four key priorities: workforce and workload planning; education and training; improving career pathways; and creating a quality assurance framework. She delivered her inaugural professorial lecture at the university on 24 September 2024, in which she discussed the role of Northern Ireland's 29,000 nurses and midwives in addressing health and social care challenges. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire during the 2026 New Year Honours.

Personal life McIlgorm has two children.