Lesley , Director of Patient Care and Communities, has recognised the importance of International Nurses’ Day.

This is the theme for International Nurses Day 2024, which takes place on Sunday 12 May. The theme recognises that nursing is the backbone of healthcare, and yet often faces societal undervaluation. It also aims to recognise the value that nursing contributes to society as a whole.

It got me thinking that, here at the Hospice, we are in such a unique position. We routinely emphasise that we support families and carers as well as the patients themselves. This adds to the value that people see in what we do, and also means that we leave people with longstanding memories of our care and support, that spreads into the communities around us. This in turn leads to funding being generated by loyal fundraisers that ensures we can continue to provide that care and support.

I was also reflecting on the wider societal impact of our care, and the diversity of the countries that we, in the nursing team represents here at the Hospice: Romania, Philippines, Ghana, India, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom (all 4 nations), China, Poland and Bangladesh. How lucky are we to have nursing colleagues from so many counties, each with their own cultures, languages and even nursing approaches? Each brings their own uniqueness to the care that is delivered every single day.

I just wanted to simply say, thank you for all that you do. Nursing is hard, but I am sure you will agree that it is rewarding in ways that can never be described, and these are the very things that drive us to do what we do, to make a difference to our patients and families, with the added bonus of having a wider impact on society.