Political support for Nurses' Day in Northern Ireland
Published: 12 May 2009
The leaders of the five largest political parties in Northern Ireland have marked Nurses' Day today by expressing their support for nurses and nursing.
DUP leader and First Minister Peter Robinson MP MLA said: "I would like to offer my full support for Nurses' Day as it gives us all an opportunity to voice our thanks for the care and dedication given by our nursing staff. Unfortunately nurses, whether working in hospitals or in the community, are often the victims of assault or harassment. Nurses' Day gives us the chance to stand with nurses and through supporting nurses we support the vulnerable and needy in our society who benefit most from the work of our medical professionals."
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams MP MLA commented: "I am delighted to learn that there is such a day to honour the hard work and dedication of nurses. Nurses provide invaluable services to the public, often over and above their contracted conditions, and indeed as most will agree, are the backbone of health service. I am happy to pledge my support for Nurses' Day."
SDLP leader Mark Durkan MP MLA said: "I am very pleased to support Nurse's Day 2009. They are an essential part of the primary care in our community; no one in the health service cares or understands more about the well-being of each individual patient than the nurses who take care of them. It takes a special kind of person to be a nurse. It requires a great deal of dedication, a lot of hard work and patience and an enormous amount of compassion and it is fitting that on 12 May we have an opportunity to salute them. It therefore gives me great pleasure to congratulate and thank every nurse today for their hard work and dedication to their patients."
Ulster Unionist Party leader Sir Reg Empey MLA commented: "Nurses have always been both the backbone and the frontline troops of the National Health Service. Without them there simply wouldn't be a health service to speak of. That our NHS is so greatly admired and envied around the world is, in no small measure, thanks to the nursing staff. I am delighted to record my thanks to all our nurses for the work they do, often for long hours and during difficult shifts. In many ways every day in the NHS is Nurses' Day and I, like millions of other people, have cause for gratitude for the work they have done and continue to do. My very best wishes."
Alliance Party leader David Ford MLA added his party's support. He said: "It is extremely important that our nurses get the recognition they deserve for the excellent work that they carry out. They face many pressures during their everyday work and play a vital role in our society, whether based in hospital or in the community. It particularly fitting that Nurses' Day takes place on Florence Nightingale's birthday. A true parallel can be drawn to the role that nurses have played down the years in Northern Ireland, given the tasks that they faced during the darkest days of the troubles."
RCN Northern Ireland Director Designate Janice Smyth said: "I am delighted that all five leaders of the largest political parties here have taken time out to voice their support for nurses and nursing in Northern Ireland. Today is Nurses' Day and it is a time for nurses to celebrate everything that is good about their profession. Despite facing great uncertainly in the health service at the moment, nurses continue to put patients first and, as we have seen at the RCN's annual Congress in Harrogate this week, they are willing to stand up for what they believe in. It is a great tribute to nurses across Northern Ireland that they are valued so highly by our political leaders."