Care Homes Celebrate Nursing Strength On International Nurses Day
Some of the UK’s oldest retired nurses have celebrated an official day honouring their profession.
Dozens of former nurses who live at Colten Care’s 21 homes in the south joined fellow residents and care team members to mark International Nurses Day.
Cards, gifts, cakes and good wishes were all exchanged to thank current nursing practitioners for all they do and to remember nursing from years gone by.
Nurses Day is celebrated each year on 12 May, the birthday of Florence Nightingale who earned her famous title of ‘the Lady with the Lamp’ nursing wounded soldiers in the Crimean War of 1853 to 1856.
At Avon Cliff care home in Bournemouth, 103-year-old Barbara Binding recalled her years as a children’s nurse looking at photos of herself in uniform just after qualification.
And fellow resident Betty Nelms, 96, a former TB nurse who qualified around the same time as Barbara in the 1940s, said: “I used to go door-to-door to treat people and I loved the job. My work has long finished and I’m just happy to be part of this commemoration.”
Betty’s sentiments were shared by ex-nurses Wendy Golding and Sue McPhee who live at Colten Care’s Kingfishers in New Milton.
Wendy said: “Nurses Day is a fantastic way to celebrate the dedication and compassion that nurses bring to their work, reminding us all of the vital role they play in our community.”
Sue said: “Thank you to everyone who made the day extra special.”
All Colten Care’s homes in Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex are registered to provide professional nursing care and all take part in the annual celebration of Nurses Day by presenting gifts, cards and chocolates to the in-house nursing team.
Several homes, including Abbotts Barton in Winchester, Avon Reach in Mudeford and Belmore Lodge in Lymington, organised trips out so that residents could present gifts and cards to nurses working at local GP surgeries and hospitals.
In a further example of community outreach, a party from Woodpeckers in Brockenhurst, led by Home Manager Priya Joseph and Companionship Team Leader Jane Bunker, travelled to Oakhaven Hospice in Lymington with a cake specially baked for the nurses there.
Elaine Farrer, Colten Care’s Chief Operating Officer and a registered nurse herself, said:
“Nurses are at the very heart of our homes, giving residents and their families the reassurance of comprehensive, person-centred care from the moment they start their care journeys with us.
“Our strength in nursing is a key reason we have such consistently high ratings from independent bodies such as the public review site Carehome.co.uk and the sector regulator the Care Quality Commission. Indeed, seven of our homes are rated Outstanding by the CQC with the rest all rated Good.
“It’s a great privilege to care for so many residents who were themselves nurses in their professional lives and who now entrust us with responsibilities for their wellbeing in later life.”
