Around the world, nurses in every country celebrate the birth of nursing’s modern-day founder, Florence Nightingale on 12 May. She was born in 1820 in the city of Florence, Italy (her parents weren’t very creative thinkers! ) which is 205 years ago. Her legacy to nursing still continues, having established the first evidence-based school of nursing at St Thomas Hospital, London in 1860. However, she was a social reformer in health care generally and her meticulous record keeping led to the development of her skills as a statistician and in particular ways of display data (the Coxcomb Chart) that made it understandable for ordinary people.

This year the International Council of Nurses theme for International Nurses Day is, “Our Nurses. Our Future. Caring for nurses strengthens economies”. This theme underscores the critical role a healthy nursing workforce plays in strengthening economies, improving health systems, and ensuring better outcomes for communities worldwide. This year we are holding our local celebration at The Red Lion on Friday 9th May from 6pm and invite any nurses to come and join us for a fun evening of fellowship, great speakers and a monster raffle, with funds raised going to support the Heritage Hospital at the Parkhur5st heritage Village and Our Space (a youth centre in the Stockland’s Shopping Centre.

If you would like an interview or further information, please feel free to contact me on 0467 685 824