HealthTrust Europe Celebrates International Nurses’ Day 2018

Saturday 12th May 2018, was International Nurses’ Day. The day is an opportunity to recognise and reflect upon the contribution that caring nurses and allied health professionals make to people’s lives all around the world. To mark the occasion, HealthTrust Europe (HTE) colleagues in Birmingham had a blue-themed dress down day and a bake sale to raise money for the Royal College of Nurses (RCN) Foundation and Duchenne UK on Friday 11th May. A total of £404 was raised, which will be shared equally between both organisations.

Deepa Korea, Head of Foundation, RCN Foundation, said;

“Every day, thousands of people rely on the care provided by nurses, midwives and health care assistants. The RCN Foundation is firmly committed to providing vital support to the nursing team when they need it most. Donations such as yours are essential to helping us to achieve our aims. Thank you so much for helping us to make a positive difference to the lives of so many nurses, midwives and health care assistants”.

Katie Waller, a Research Nurse for the Royal Victoria infirmary in Newcastle said;

“I joined the muscle team as a Research Nurse in Newcastle in September 2016. My role is funded by Duchenne UK and Joining Jack, and was introduced to help increase trial capacity for patients with DMD as part of the ‘Newcastle Plan. I am so grateful to have been funded by Duchenne UK and Joining Jack and thoroughly enjoy working in a role which allows me to develop my clinical skills as well as specialist knowledge into the condition which I can then share with our patients”.

This year, International Nurses’ Day took place in the same week as Hospital Week in the U.S.A. Milton Johnson, Chairman and CEO of HCA Healthcare, also shared a special message with employees of the group;

“Please join us in thanking our nurses for the critical role they play in caring for our patients. While these are events we celebrate each year, they take on added significance in 2018: the year of HCA Healthcare’s 50th anniversary.
In 1968, HCA was established with a single 200-bed hospital – Park View Hospital, in Nashville, Tennessee. Since then, we have grown into an organization that offers access to quality, compassionate care across 20 U.S. states and the U.K. In nearly 30 million patient encounters each year, we put our shared mission into practice: Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life.
When Dr. Thomas Frist Sr., Dr. Thomas Frist Jr. and Jack Massey joined together to found HCA 50 years ago, their goal was to provide superior healthcare with warmth and compassion for patients, colleagues and communities. A lot has changed in 50 years, but each of you help ensure those core tenets are as relevant as ever in our hospitals, urgent care centers, physician practices, surgery centers and other points of care throughout the organisation.”

International Nurses’ Day is also close to the heart of Claire Moses, Director of Clinical Boards for HTE’s, Group Purchasing Organisation. Claire is a Registered Nurse (Adult), with previous experience gained in both the military and Neurology. Claire shared her thoughts on how HTE’s commitment to the care and improvement of human life is supported with clinical experience and knowledge;

“HTE supports nursing services in the communities that we serve by bringing together pockets of clinical excellence and inspiring clinical teams to deliver the best quality products to provide safe and effective patient care. We break down the barriers between procurement and the clinical teams in order for members to realise their goals.
This year is made more special, as we approach the 70th Anniversary of the NHS. Over the past 70 years the NHS has gone through significant change, each step of the way has been challenging. However, through the combined efforts of all staff, the NHS continues to strive towards providing excellent patient care.”

More about the RCN Foundation
The RCN Foundation is an independent charity which is part of the Royal College of Nursing Group. Their mission is to support and strengthen nursing to improve the health and wellbeing of the public. The Foundation provides advice and financial assistance when members of the nursing profession are facing hardship. this could be caused by illness, domestic abuse or simply not being able to make ends meet. In 2017, they supported over 1,700 individuals who were facing hardship. 74% of grant recipients said that the grant had increased their independence.
The foundation also funds education and career development opportunities, alongside strategic, nursing-led projects that aim to improve patient care. Their current focus is supporting the nursing team working in a care home setting. Over the next three years, this will be expanded to focus on mental health and learning disability nursing.

More about Duchenne UK
Our chosen charity for 2018, Duchenne UK, is funding several nursing posts via the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) Hub. The aim of the DMD Hub is to ensure all patients have the chance to take part in a clinical trial, by increasing clinical trial capacity in the UK. The work of the DMD Hub includes a total of three years of funding for a Clinical Research Nurse at the Royal Victoria infirmary in Newcastle and two years of funding for a Clinical Trials Nurse at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. The £202 we are donating will cover the funding for a nurse for one day.