International Nurse’s Day - Local health leaders celebrate nurses

Monday, May 11, 2020

On Tuesday 12 May, NHS South Sefton and NHS Southport and Formby Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will be celebrating the work of all of our wonderful nurses working across the area.

Nursing is a highly rewarding profession and offers a number of diverse and interesting career opportunities Nurses work in lots of different settings including care homes and as part of mental health teams.

There are also nursing opportunities in less typical settings, such as working within a CCG and our chief officer, Fiona Taylor is an example of this. Fiona trained as a nurse and midwife and has worked in a variety of different roles in the NHS.

Fiona Taylor, chief officer for NHS South Sefton CCG and NHS Southport and Formby CCGs, said: “You may not realise that there are many different roles for nurses. You’re bound to find something that’s the right fit for you.

“I started as a general registered nurse in Salford before going on to become a midwife and health visitor. I now have a very different role, but the work I do still allows me to help patients.”

Sarah Massam, a practice nurse in Sefton, said: “Nursing is such a rewarding career. It’s very diverse and you can make it what you want. You can make such a difference for patients and give them a new lease of life.”

Eileen Stephenson, a practice nurse in Sefton said: “I’ve been a nurse for 44 years. Practice nursing is a great role to be in because it’s very varied. I look after all the long-term conditions like diabetes, COPD and asthma. I certainly would encourage anyone to go into nursing.”

To help people consider a career in nursing, the government recently announced additional support of at least £5,000 a year to help students with living costs, starting in September 2020.

2020 is an especially important year to celebrate the work of nurses. This year’s celebrations fall on the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

Fiona added: “International Day of the Nurse is a great opportunity to say how exceptionally proud we are of the way nursing teams have risen to the challenges we’re currently facing with coronavirus, adapting services and adopting new technology to provide the same great care as they always have, in the safest possible way.

“I would like to say a big thank you to all the nurses working tirelessly across the system.”

For more information on nursing visit: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/nursing-careers

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