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Published: 23 December 2008
Health professionals that have just completed a tour of duty at Camp Bastian in Afghanistan were recognised at a special reception in the Senedd last month. Staff, including RCN Wales Director, Tina Donnelly, spent three months in Afghanistan treating injured British armed services personnel.
The reception, sponsored by Health Minister Edwina Hart, enabled Assembly Members to pay tribute to members of 203 (Welsh)) Field Hospital (Volunteers) and to learn about their experiences in Afghanistan as they returned to their day jobs in the NHS. RCN President Maura Buchanan, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, representatives of the RCN Welsh Board and the Chief Nursing Officer for Wales, Rosemary Kennedy, who is also Colonel Commandant for the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, attended the reception.
Peter Carter said: “I welcome the opportunity to celebrate and recognise the immense contribution that Health Professionals have made in Afghanistan. Their work is an absolutely key factor in assisting this military campaign which is as tough and demanding as any combat theatre could be. In my discussions with service personnel they consistently praise the care and high calibre interventions that are made when people are injured. The country should be proud that we have people such as yourselves who are prepared to carry on this difficult and dangerous work. We in the Royal College of Nursing salute you on behalf of the nation.”