Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust Nurses were invited to Westminster Abbey as part of Florence Nightingale celebrations to mark International Nurses Day.
Joshua Hammond, a Frailty Practitioner at Southern Health will be an escort to the lamp bearer at Westminster Abbey as part of the Florence Nightingale service on 11 May.
Wales)and Lucy Lewis at Westminster Abbey
Nurses Day aims to celebrate the amazing work nurses do around the world, as well as highlighting the diversity of roles and skills within the profession. Southern Health employ over 2900 nurses covering a huge range of skills and areas, including inpatient and community work across any number of specialities from mental health to school nursing, diabetes to end-of-life care. Last year they helped the Trust provide over 1.3million patient contacts and 145,738 outpatient appointments.
Joshua said: “It is a huge honour to be involved with the service, Florence Nightingale was a pioneer and is still inspiring people today. Nurses have done so much over the last few years so its great to be recognised for the job we love and to take part in experiences like this.”
Lucy Lewis is a Consultant Practitioner in Frailty and an alumni of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, which awards prestigious scholarships to nurses to help them pioneer change and improvements through research and clinical leadership. Lucy was in attendance at Westminster and on Sunday 15 May will take the important role of lamp bearer at a special ceremony in Romsey Abbey where the beautiful stain glass window depiction of Florence Nightingale will be dedicated to the Bishop of Southampton.
Lucy added: “Being a Florence Nightingale Foundation scholar and alumni has meant so much to me both personally and professionally so I was thrilled to be asked to be the lamp bearer at the Romsey Abbey ceremony. It has also been lovely to read all the amazing feedback and comments we get around Nurses Day which really highlight the impact good nursing can have.”
This years’ Nurses Day is all about showcasing the incredible work nurses do whilst also highlighting the huge range of specialities and skills nurses have. A recent survey suggested that nine in ten (89%) of people in the UK admire nurses and 31% of people would consider becoming one.
Feedback from patients thanking Southern Health Nurses this Nurses Day has already included
- Kate – Mother and Baby Unit: “You have no idea of the impact you had on me and my family. you saved not only me but my family too, we can't thank you enough.”
- Margaret – Gosport War Memorial Hospital: "Thank you for everything, you looked after my mother like she was your own. Thank you"
- Celia – Petersfield Community Hospital: "Thank you for looking after my father so well."
To find out more about the various nursing roles and oppertunities visit out Work for us pages.