The efforts of 1,000 nurses will be celebrated today at a Norfolk hospital as part of International Nurses Day.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King’s Lynn is among those marking the year of the nurse and midwife, with 2020 celebrating the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.
Staff will pay their respects to their colleague and healthcare assistant Chrissie Emerson, who died of coronavirus and whose funeral will take place today.
The hospital has a nursing team ranging in age from 21 to 78 and roles including, sisters, matrons, trainee, specialist and staff nurses.
To celebrate the day, QEH staff have shared why they love being a part of nursing.
Tinu Thomas is a staff nurse on the hospital’s Gayton Ward and began her training in Delhi, India.
She was encouraged by her friend to come to the UK and work at the QEH.
She said: “I’ve always wanted to be a nurse and now here I am working on an orthopaedic ward caring for patients with many complications and mobility issues. It’s an interesting role and we work closely with the physio and pain teams to rehabilitate our patients.”
Arnold Mandola said it has been a privilege to work as part of the team since 2002, after moving from the Philippines.
He has worked on the critical care unit for his entire career with the QEH, and is currently in charge of the ‘green’ area, looking after non-Covid-19 patients and recovery in the intensive care unit (ITU).
Paediatric lead Laura Morgan has held a number of roles during her career and also teaches aspiring and current clinical staff.
She said: “I love it. I have always wanted to work in the NHS – both of my grandmothers were matrons.”
Zoe Coton has been a qualified nurse for more than five years, starting as a healthcare assistant and working to her current role as a research nurse.
She said: “I always wanted to get into research after a placement I went on as a student.
“I love my job because I work with a variety of patients with different conditions.”
Chief nurse Libby McManus expressed her thanks for the teams’ efforts for their work to make a difference to their community.
She said: “Nursing is such a powerful profession and never has there been a better time to encourage more curious, talented and caring people to join us.”
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