Daily briefing – 12/05/2020 Latest information and guidance for all GMMH staff Dear colleague, Today is International Nurses’ Day and in other circumstances, we would spend the day acknowledging and celebrating the nursing profession. However, things are very different this year and whilst we do want to share thanks and gratitude with nursing colleagues across GMMH and the wider NHS, this is tinged with the sadness of the many nurses who cannot mark the day with us. Along with many other healthcare workers, nurses have lost their lives while caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each loss is devastating and we share our deepest condolences with anyone who has a lost a friend, colleague or family member to this virus. Despite this, nurses across our Trust and the NHS continue to share their dedication and expertise to support patients and their families who are fighting COVID-19. Their constant hard work and compassion is being rightly recognised at this time, but many of us know, these traits were among our nurses long before COVID-19 entered our daily life. On behalf of all us at GMMH, we want to thank each and every nurse who has dedicated their career to the NHS and who are supporting us during this current pandemic and beyond. Today also marks the 200th birthday of possibly the most famous of nurses, Florence Nightingale who is quoted to have said, “The elements of nursing are all but unknown.” Never has this been truer during this current crisis, where we have seen nurses everywhere, come back from retirement, be redeployed, or complete their studies, to step up to the front line, against a new and unpredictable disease. Nurses are being celebrated in many ways today. Ruth May, England’s Chief Nurse is urging people to shine a light in their window at 8.30pm this evening (Tuesday) to mark the day and show their appreciation for all that nurses are doing. The light is also to pay tribute to the lamp of Florence Nightingale. NHS England have put together a film, featuring our very own Sarah McDonald (Head of IM&T but seconded to the Infection Prevention and Control Team) and Poonam Agarwal (Registered Mental Health Nurse), which has been picked up by BBC News and was featured here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-52567036 (scroll down to 11am). A surprise concert has been published for nurses organised by Hospitality for Heroes. Laura Whitmore has hosted the surprise online concert with artists including Melanie C, James Blunt, Zara Larsson, Clean Bandit, Anne-Marie and others. You can watch a short trailer here and you can watch the full concert on the Hospitality for Heroes YouTube channel. At GMMH, we want to handover to some of our nurses and hear from them about what is it is like to be a nurse – the below is only a tiny proportion of the number of fantastic quotes and photographs which have been collated across our social media channels. If you get a moment, please have a look at our Facebook and Twitter pages to see the celebration of our amazing nurses and how they are marking the day across the Trust.

Wherever you are today, I wish you a happy and safe International Nurses’ Day. Best wishes,

Gill Green Director of Nursing and Governance

 Park House nurses in Manchester have written about their nursing journeys https://newintranet/trustnews/Pages/Park-House-celebrate-IND-2020.aspx  Head of Nursing Practice, Stuart Edmondson talks about his rewarding career as a nurse and encourages others to consider this career path: https://twitter.com/i/status/1260193387032055809

A gallery of some of our fantastic nurses: