CELEBRATING NURSES AND MIDWIVES ACROSS NSW

Health Minister Jillian Skinner today thanked the state’s 49,000 nurses and midwives for the skill and compassion they bring to their work in public hospitals and public health facilities around the state.

International Nurses Day (May 12) commemorates the birthday of the world’s most famous nurse, Florence Nightingale.

The theme for 2016 International Nurses Day is Nurses: A Force for Change - Improving Health Systems’ Resilience.

It follows 2016 International Midwives Day (May 5), which recognisedWomen and Newborns - the Heart of Midwifery.

“Our nurses and midwives are at the front line of the NSW health system, dispensing clinical care and compassion around the clock in settings across the state,” Mrs Skinner said.

“As the daughter of a nurse, and now as Health Minister, I have been privileged to observe the unique role they play in people’s lives at times of physical trauma and pain and emotional distress.

“We owe our nurses and midwives a debt of gratitude and we thank them for choosing to dedicate their professional lives to the service of others,” she said.

NSW’s Acting Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Anne Robertson, said nurses and midwives are the cornerstone of the health system.

“I am very proud of our nurses and midwives - without them, our health system simply could not operate as well as it does,” Ms Robertson said.

“I’m always so impressed by their sheer dedication and commitment to patients and their families, who rely on them at their greatest time of need.”