The First Black Nurse to Work in the UK’s NHS: The Story of Chief Kofoworola Abeni Pratt
Africannurses
30/08/2026
Long before international nursing opportunities became a familiar path for African nurses, a Nigerian woman crossed the Atlantic and entered one of Britain’s most prestigious nursing institutions.
Her name was Kofoworola Abeni Pratt,
From Lagos to a Career Almost Denied
Born in Lagos in 1915, Kofoworola wanted to become a nurse from a young age. Her father, however, did not consider nursing a suitable career for her, so she trained as a teacher and worked at the United Missionary College in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
But the dream did not disappear.
In 1946, Kofoworola travelled to Britain and became the first Black student to enter the Nightingale Training School at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. She was also a married woman with a young son at a time when nursing was still considered an unusual career for married women.
Though she is widely recognised as the first Black nurse to work in the NHS, emerging research has uncovered the stories of other Black nurses who worked in Britain before her, including Nigerian Princess Adenrele Ademola, who qualified as a nurse in 1941. This does not diminish Kofoworola’s achievements; instead, it highlights how much of Black nursing history remains undocumented and still deserves to be told.
A Black nurse in a white institution
Kofoworola experienced racism during her training and early nursing career.
At St Thomas’, a patient refused to be treated by her because she was Black. It was a painful reminder that qualifying as a nurse did not mean she would automatically be accepted as one.
But she stayed.
She qualified as a state registered nurse in 1950 and went on to work within the NHS. In 1952, she became a staff nurse at Evelina London Children’s Hospital. The following year, she became a charge nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital.
She was not simply surviving the system.
She was rising through it.
Then she came home and faced another barrier
In 1954, Kofoworola returned to Nigeria.
You might think this would have been the easy part. She was returning home with British nursing training, experience and qualifications.
It was not.
She was initially denied a ward sister position because the role was reserved for British expatriates. Even in her own country, colonial structures had placed limits on how far a Nigerian nurse could rise.
But Kofoworola did not stop.
Within about a decade, she became the first Nigerian matron of University College Hospital, Ibadan, a position that had previously been held by white British nurses.
Her career continued to expand.
She helped establish nursing education at the University of Ibadan, became Nigeria’s Chief Nursing Officer, served as Commissioner of Health for Lagos and became the first African vice-president of the International Council of Nurses. She also received the Florence Nightingale Medal in 1973 and an honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing in 1979.
The woman who had once been told, directly and indirectly, where she did not belong eventually occupied rooms where important nursing decisions were being made.
What Kofoworola Pratt’s story means for nurses seeking opportunities abroad
Today, thousands of African nurses look beyond their countries for better career opportunities, professional development and international experience.
Kofoworola’s story offers an important perspective.
Going abroad is not the end goal. It is an opportunity.
She did not travel to Britain and simply become a nurse there. She gained experience, developed professionally, encountered barriers and then brought what she had learned back home.
Her international experience became part of the foundation for her leadership in Nigerian nursing.
For nurses seeking opportunities outside their countries, her story is a reminder to think beyond the destination.
Ask yourself:
What am I going there to learn?
What skills, networks and experiences can I build?
How can this opportunity shape the kind of nurse and leader I eventually become?
And perhaps most importantly:
What will I do with what I learn?
Kofoworola Abeni Pratt did not simply cross a border.
She crossed boundaries.
From Lagos to London. From student nurse to NHS staff nurse. From being denied a leadership position to becoming a matron. From Nigeria’s colonial nursing system to becoming its Chief Nursing Officer. From being the first Black student at St Thomas’ to becoming an international nursing leader.
Conclusion
Kofoworola Pratt’s life shows that international nursing experience can become more than a personal achievement. It can provide the knowledge, confidence and professional exposure needed to transform healthcare systems at home.
Her journey was not easy. She faced opposition in Britain, discrimination within the colonial nursing system and barriers to leadership in Nigeria. Yet she continued to advance, not only for herself but also for the nurses who would come after her.
Her story reminds African nurses that opportunities abroad can open doors, but what matters most is how those opportunities are used.
The destination may be another country, but the greater purpose can be the growth of the nurse, the strengthening of the profession and the improvement of healthcare for future generations.
References
- Evelina London. “The First Black NHS Nurse at Evelina London.” Evelina London, 2020. https://www.evelinalondon.nhs.uk/about-us/news-events/2020-news/20201020-first-black-NHS-nurse-at-evelina-london.aspx
- Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. “Black History Month: Celebrating the NHS’s First Black Nurse.” https://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/news/black-history-month-celebrating-nhss-first-black-nurse
- International Black History Month UK. “Kofoworola Abeni Pratt Was the First Black Nurse in the NHS and Nursing Pioneer in Nigeria.” https://www.ibhm-uk.org/post/kofoworola-abeni-pratt-was-the-first-black-nurse-in-the-nhs-and-nursing-pioneer-in-nigeria
- King’s College London. “Kofoworola Abeni Pratt.” https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/kofoworola-abeni-pratt
- Royal College of Nursing. “Fearless About Being First: Nigeria’s Kofoworola Abeni Pratt.” RCN History, 2022. https://www.rcn.org.uk/magazines/History/2022/Jan/Fearless-about-being-first-Nigeria-Kofoworola-Abeni-Pratt
