National Nurses Day

National Nurses Day on 12 May, celebrates nurses around the world and coincides with the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth. At Hospice, we believe our nurses deserve to be celebrated for their commitment and dedication to ensure you live well, your way, to the end of your life.

One of our Rebecca House Children’s Hospice nurses, Lauren Harrison, wanted to share with you what it’s like to be a nurse right now during these unprecedented times.

“Following the introduction of social distancing measures due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I was asked to split my time between Rebecca House and the Adult ‘Hospice at Home’ Community Team, as well as occasionally working within our In-Patient Unit at Southlands.

Nursing in general is a very personal profession involving close contact with both staff and patients, so to maintain a specific distance apart has proved very difficult to me, if not impossible at times. However, we are fully equipped with PPE which has enabled us to work in close contact when necessary, and safely.

My colleagues in the Rebecca House team are very close-knit and I really miss working alongside them and caring for all of the wonderful children who attend Rebecca House. My colleagues in the Adult Team have also welcomed me with open arms and I thoroughly enjoy working with them too.

Although I was apprehensive to begin with, redeployment to the Hospice Adult Community Team has enabled me to learn so many new aspects of nursing. Despite these most difficult of times, I know that the situation has brought all of us closer together (socially distanced of course!) and everyone has been so accommodating and flexible in order to provide the best quality care that we can provide during these uncertain times.

I have to say a BIG thank you to all the essential and key workers who have continued throughout the pandemic to support our Island community; this is not only my healthcare colleagues, but our house-keeping team and culinary staff at Hospice, social care services, the police and other blue light services, refuse workers and those in retail. You’re doing an amazing job! Thank you!

For those who are working from home, or are unable to work right now – I thank you for continuing to stay at home to stay safe. Life is a bit strange and difficult at the moment, however, if we continue to wash our hands and adhere to the social distancing guidelines, then hopefully we can return to something that looks ‘normal’ sometime soon.”

Happy National Nurses Day