Peter Carter, OBE, MCIPD CCMI (Companion of the Chartered Institute of Management) iis the General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing, the world's largest professional union of nurses and health care support workers. The RCN has a membership of 400,000 nurses, midwives, health visitors, nursing students, cadets and health care support workers. Before assuming the post of RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive in January 2007, Carter spent almost twelve years as the Chief Executive of the Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust, one of the largest mental health trusts in the UK with an operating budget of over £180 million and a national reputation. CNWL was awarded three stars by the Healthcare Commission, and, in Carter's final year, was awarded a rating of "excellent" for quality of care and "good" for use of resources. The Trust received several awards related to standards of patient care and innovative staff initiatives. In January 2007, the CNWL was voted in a poll by readers of the Nursing Times as the best mental health trust to work for in the entire United Kingdom.