Jackie Smith, a wonderful friend and work colleague at the Health and Social Care Information Centre sadly passed away on Friday 10^th April after a battle against cancer.

Jackie joined the NHS in 1995 and had a real knowledge and passion for the use of information and technology (we refer to it as 'informatics') and was a real leader in  developing informatics education and skills for people working across the NHS.

She put such energy into new ways of helping people to learn, such as in the development of e-learning in the NHS in North and East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire in the late 90's and into the new  millennium.

From 2004 onwards Jackie led on the development of what is now the Health Informatics Career Framework and the Health Informatics Apprenticeship programme and developed publicity materials with NHS Careers so that people could make Health Informatics their career choice. She was always in her element working with schools and encouraging young people in doing this. 

Jackie always practised what she preached and in 2007 she was elected as a member of the UKCHIP Council, a position that she held until her untimely death.

All of us will sadly miss, but never forget, Jackie’s sense of purpose, passion, warmth and ability to put people at their ease no matter if they were patients, programme managers or young students.

The speed with which her illness took her away has left us all in shock. Our thoughts are with her family at this time who have nominated the Royal British Legion as her chosen charity.