New boss for Enfield charity at 'pivotal time for cancer care'

The new chief executive of the Nightingale Cancer Support Centre takes up her role at a time when a growing number of people are turning to the Enfield-based charity "in desperate need of support".

The Nightingale Cancer Support Centre has appointed Meral Nugent as its new CEO to "lead the charity in an exciting new chapter".

With a career spanning 25 years in the UK healthcare sector, Meral brings "in-depth experience of corporate affairs and PR" plus "a wealth of policy and commercial knowledge" to her new role. Her previous job was as director of corporate affairs at HCA Healthcare, and before that she was head of global communications at Advanz Pharma.

Meral comes to her new job with prior experience of the Nightingale, having worked there as a volunteer:

"During my time working here previously, I have come to love the Nightingale and the amazing work it does in the community.

"With 1 in 2 people experiencing cancer in their lifetime, the work of the Nightingale has never been more important, and I am very much looking forward to shaping the next stage of our journey as a charity, while continuing to support as many people as possible through what is an incredibly challenging time."

In a message sent to the Enfield-based charity's many supporters, Meral highlights how the increasing number of people living with cancer (up 17% over five years) has directly impacted the Nightingale's services, with a 33% year-on-year increase in people turning to them for help in 2025.

The Nightingale's chair of trustees, Sam Seth, has expressed their delight at the appointment:

"Meral’s breadth of experience, combined with her strategic communications expertise, makes her exceptionally well placed to lead the charity into its next chapter. The trustees are looking forward to working with Meral as she develops the charity’s strategy to deliver more services to more people across Enfield."

Paying tribute to Meral's predecessor as CEO, Nick Jacobs, who retired in December, Sam Seth said: "The trustees would like to thank Nick for his contributions to the charity over the last three years in helping to grow the services, client base and awareness of the centre."