Celebrate nursing on 12 May

Published: 10 May 2013

Patients and nursing staff up and down the country will be celebrating Nurses’ Day, an international day of appreciation for the difference nursing staff make to the lives of those they care for. Held on 12 May each year, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, Nurses’ Day gives patients and the public the chance to highlight the valuable contribution nursing staff make.

Members of the public have been telling the Royal College of Nursing why they will be celebrating Nurses’ Day this year, and the stories have been demonstrating the positive impact nursing staff can have for people during extremely difficult times in their lives.

Elisabeth Segal is a patient at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. She told the RCN she will be celebrating breast care nurses, especially her primary breast care nurse Suzanne England and her secondary breast care nurse Diane Mackie.

Elisabeth said: “Suzanne and Diane have supported me, helped me, and I could not have coped without either one of them. There are not many breast care nurses and even though they have hundreds of patients they are always there for me, ringing me to check up, and answering any questions I have. They make you feel like you are their one and only patient and they are both more than my nurses, they are my good friends.”

Suzanne said: “Often in our busy working lives, finding the time to realise the value of what we do and why we do it is forgotten. Nurses’ day is the ideal opportunity for each and every nurse to think about what is fundamentally important within their role and what they achieve every day.”

Dr Peter Carter, RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary said: “Nurses’ Day is a great way for people to remember the wonderful contributions that nurses make to the lives of patients and their families every single day. We have heard inspiring stories from patients on how a nurse has gone above and beyond to provide exceptional care and support. That is why it’s so important that we pay tribute to nurses and their colleagues who have dedicated their lives to caring for those in need.”

The Nurses’ Day website can be found at www.rcn.org.uk/nursesday