This is a page which is dedicated to the memory, untiring work, enthusiasm and character of Dr Rodney Hughes.

Many of you visiting this page will have known Rodney, some will have only read his work or have experienced his teaching and support.

The eNWI Committee felt that it would be entirely appropriate to commemorate his life by creating a page dedicated in this way.

This page will evolve as the opportunities to develop work started by Rodney - or work made possible by his enthusiasm - are recorded here.

The committee also felt that many of you might like to record your memories of Rodney on his page and we offer below a feedback form for this purpose.

We start the page with Dave Llloyd's tribute to Rodney.

March 2008 SAD NEWS:

It is with a tremendous sense of loss, both personally and professionally, that I write this tribute to Dr Rodney Hughes, who passed away on the 28th of February 2008, aged 65 years.

Rodney made an immense contribution to the formation and continuing work of eNWI, and was a significant champion for nursing terminology, standardised language in nursing and a voice for nursing in the development of health informatics and e-health nursing.

Rodney was a founder member of the North Wales Nursing Terminology Group (NWNTG) which was set up as a direct influence of the 2003 UK & Ireland ACENDIO conference held in Swansea. The NWNTG was the first group of its type in Wales and Rodney quickly became an enthusiastic and innovative member of group. It was during this time that he was instrumental in developing a “Conceptual Model for Nursing Information” which has subsequently attracted considerable interest on both the national and international nursing scene, and has been presented at several major conferences. The conceptual model will shortly be published in the International Journal of Nursing Terminologies and Classifications.

When eNWI was formed in 2004, Rodney was unanimously elected Chair of the group and was untiring in his work to ensure that nurses in Wales had a clear “voice” in the development of the Informing Health Care programme and the promotion of standardised nursing terminologies. Rodney brought a determined and very effective leadership to eNWI’s activities, as well as conducting proceedings with an engaging sharp wit and keen sense of humour. Even in the latter, terminal phase of his illness, we continued to exchange ideas for the future direction of e-health nursing in Wales and it is my intention to ensure that eNWI moves forward in the inspirational manner that Rodney has set for us all.

Dave Lloyd, Chair eNWI

Memories of Rodney

You are invited to send us your memories or anecdotes which reflect Rodney's life and work. Please be thoughtful and aware of the medium as postings must be appropriate and the committee will have the final decision as to which are accessed on this web page.

Send us your memory

May 2008 from: Dame June Clark DBE PhD RN FRCN, Professor Emeritus, Swansea University, Wales UK:

"Rodney made an immense contribution to nursing in Wales. His interest in nursing began as a cadet in the St John Ambulance Brigade, and he undertook his basic nursing education at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, where he met his wife Jan, who is also a nurse. After qualifying as a general nurse, he specialised in orthopaedic nursing, before moving into nursing management, eventually becoming Chief Nurse to the health authority which at that time provided health services (hospital and community) for the whole of south west Wales.
At a time when opportunities for nurses to undertake academic education were very limited, he achieved two Masters degrees, and when an opportunity came for early retirement from the National Health Service, he won a scholarship to undertake PhD studies as a full-time student at Swansea University. His PhD was about demonstrating the specific contribution of nursing to the care of people with spinal injuries through the use of standardised nursing terminology. He continued this work in North Wales where he was a founder member of the North Wales Nursing Terminology Group (NWNTG) and Chairman of eNWI (the Welsh electronic nursing network about eHealth).
He was also a leader for other nursing developments in Wales, in particular the formation of the Honor Society of Nursing Wales which was recently chartered as the first STTI Chapter in the UK (Upsilon Xi At Large Chapter), and the Welsh Nursing Academy, of which he was elected the first Fellow.
Rodney brought an inspirational leadership to nursing, with an engaging sharp wit and keen sense of humour. Even in the terminal phase of his illness, he continued to be involved. He will be much missed."

The Conceptual Model

View Rodney's powerpoint presentation which describes the Conceptual Model

View Rodney's own notes on the Model