Nursing the Nation to Health

International Nurses Day is an annual celebration of the crucial work nurses do around the world.

It is especially important in 2020 as they continue to lead the frontline charge against the Coronavirus pandemic.

And the celebrations today are extra special because 2020 has been designated the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.

Communities across the Western Isles are being urged to thank NHS nurses by ‘shining a light' at 8pm tonight, in honour of the 200^th anniversary of Florence Nightingale ‘The lady with the lamp’.

NHS Western Isles Nurse and AHP Director/Chief Operating Officer, William Findlay (pictured), commented: “International Day of the Nurse is particularly special this year not just because we mark the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, but because of the extraordinary work all those who have followed in her footsteps are doing in the fight against coronavirus.

“I would like to thank our nurses across the Western Isles for the care they give patients each and every day. Nursing is a large family and right now in our pandemic we are reliant on the expertise of a range of specialist nurses, from infection prevention and control to health protection, as well as our frontline nursing teams. A massive thank you to you all.”