Sunday 12 May will commemorate 199 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale. In memory of the dedicated founder of nursing, healthcare providers across the world will come together in celebration of International Day of Nursing.
Today, Friday 10 May, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has celebrated the successes of its nursing workforce. This follows a celebration on Friday 3 for National Day of the Midwife. Committed to providing the best quality care for their patients, today was a day to congratulate their achievements, highlight successes from the last year and simply thank them for the devotion they give every day.
The Trust’s nurses and midwives have an enormous amount of knowledge and many diverse skills, all the time working to help bring new life into the world, care tirelessly for the sick and injured, and offer support to the families and friends waiting patiently by a bedside.
There are so many examples of pioneering, quality practice initiated and run by the Trust’s nurses and midwifery team. This includes advances in nutrition which has seen new menus, Droplet Cups and social tea parties, developments in dementia care, including the employment of two Admiral Nurses who provide specialist care to dementia patients and their families and an ambulatory care and triage centre run by advanced care practitioners.
In the last year alone, the Trust has seen 24 ex-nurses return to nursing, a number of nursing apprenticeship roles filled and 73 registered nurses from oversees.
Nursing staff have also devised innovative ways of engaging with staff and patients, including goldfish bowl sessions which give patients and their families the opportunity to meet with staff to discuss the care they have received and work together to make improvements.
Julie Marshman has been the Trust’s Chief Nurse for over a year.
“I am truly amazed by the efforts I see every day from our nurses and midwives, and feel proud of every single one of them,” she said.
“They are a powerhouse work force and despite the adversities that they sometimes face, our nurses keep smiling and always put patient care at the forefront of all they do.
“Our staff bring forward-thinking ideas to the Trust and are always on a mission to improve patient care, with patients and their families at the forefront of all they do.
“They excel in areas such as dementia care, midwifery, management and general practice and really do deserve to be recognised for their hard work. I have very much enjoyed visiting nurses across the Trust today to personally thank them for the work that they do.”
If you are interested in joining the nursing team at Great Western Hospitals, visit https://www.gwh.nhs.uk/working-for-us/ to see all available positions.
