You are at the heart of this anniversary
The Chief Nursing Officer for England outlines plans for nursing, midwifery and care staff to celebrate the 70th birthday of the NHS.
I am delighted to publish this blog today supported by Hilary Garratt CBE and Ruth May.
We are pleased to highlight the many activities across the country during the week of the NHS birthday celebrations and I know many of you will be holding or taking part in a number of events in your own organisations.
As the NHS turns 70, I am proud to be leading the biggest nursing recruitment campaign since the creation of the NHS in 1948. The new campaign will look at the wide ranging career opportunities in the 21st century in a drive to recruit and retain more nurses and midwives.
As Chief Nursing Officer for England, I am also delighted to have worked closely with the RCNi and Nursing Standard to sponsor, on behalf of the UK wide Chief Nursing Officers, a publication that will celebrate 70 of the most inspirational nurses and midwives over last 70 years.
In addition to these key activities, Hilary, Ruth and I are supporting four regional events on 3 July, specifically aimed at celebrating the contribution and achievements of our professions over the last 70 years. The regional conferences will place our professions at the heart of the national celebrations, where more than 1,000 staff will be in attendance with many more joining the first hour via a web link.
I will speak from 9:45am until 10:15am in London, followed by a question and answer session, enabling delegates at the conferences and online to engage and network with each other. There will be an opportunity to ask questions via 6CsLive; all you need to do is send a direct message on twitter.
At 10:30am, a reflection of the hugely popular #70nursebloggers and #70midwifebloggers initiative, led by Teresa Chinn MBE, founder of the WeCommunities, and Sam Sherrington will take place, highlighting some of the fantastic blogs produced by staff across the country and beyond.
The aim of the #70nursebloggers and #70midwifebloggers initiative is to inspire nurses and midwives to write about their work, tell their stories and in doing so, share ideas and spark debate that can help shape the NHS of the future.
Many nurses and midwives have stepped up to the challenge and already more than 70 nurses and 70 midwives have helped to achieve more than our target of 70 blogs. Teresa Chinn of @WeNurses has collated the blogs into two Twitter moments that can be found online at #70nursebloggers and #70midwifebloggers.
Ruth May, Executive Director of Nursing, NHS Improvement and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England said: “I am delighted to have been asked to speak at the Midlands and East event, where, in addition to the livestreaming of Jane’s speech, a number of great speakers are lined up to showcase the work of our amazing, dedicated staff.”
Amongst the impressive line-up of speakers on 3 July are Regional Chief Nurses, Professor Oliver Shanley (London), Sue Doheny (South Region), Dr Lynne Wigens (Midlands & East) and Margaret Kitching (North); Joanne Bosanquet MBE, Deputy Chief Nurse at Public Health England (South); Betty Smithson, who began her nurse training in 1948 and remains active as a volunteer within the NHS and Health Watch today (North); Dr Catharine Hannaway, Executive Director, Nursing Now global campaign (South) and Cecilia Anim, President of the Royal College of Nursing (London), to name a few.
Hilary Garratt, Director of Nursing, NHS England and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “It is great to see all four regions of the country coming together in this way and I am looking forward to being part of the celebrations taking place at the north event on 3 July. It is also good to see a number of sessions with an international focus across the four events. Never has it been more important to collaborate with nurses and midwives on an international scale to identify and lead solutions to health and care challenges.”
The north and south regions will also host a NHS Big 7Tea party in support of NHS Charities and celebrate the 70th anniversary of the NHS. In the London region there will be several opportunities throughout the day for delegates to view inspiring and regional displays showcasing key achievements across the region.
Tweeting is also encouraged throughout the day, with each event having a dedicated hashtag, as well as making use of the national #NHS70 hashtag to collate all of our important discussions together.
The regional hashtags are as follows:
I encourage all nursing, midwifery and care staff to take part in these important events by watching the live stream and staying abreast of the conversations taking place via Twitter and look forward to seeing you on the day – in person or virtually.
- Read more information about plans to mark the NHS’s 70th birthday, including how you can get involved
- You can follow Professor Jane Cummings, Hilary Garratt CBE and Ruth May on Twitter: @JaneMCummings, @HilaryGarratt, @RMayNurseDir
Professor Jane Cummings
Professor Jane Cummings is the Chief Nursing Officer for England and Executive Director at NHS England.
Jane specialised in emergency care and has held a wide variety of roles across the NHS including Director of Commissioning, Director of Nursing and Deputy Chief Executive.
In February 2004, she became the national lead for emergency care agreeing and implementing the 98% operational standard. She has also worked as the nursing advisor for emergency care. In January 2005, she was appointed as the National Implementation Director for ‘Choice’ and ‘Choose and Book’.
Jane moved to NHS North West in November 2007 where she held executive responsibility for the professional leadership of nursing, quality, performance as well as QIPP, commissioning and for a time Deputy Chief Executive Officer. In October 2011, she was appointed to the role of Chief Nurse for the North of England SHA Cluster.
She was appointed as Chief Nursing Officer for England in March 2012 and started full time in June 2012. Jane is the professional lead for all nurses and midwives in England (with the exception of public health) and published the ‘6Cs’ and ‘Compassion in Practice’ in December 2012, followed by publishing the ‘Leading Change, Adding Value’ framework in May 2016.
Jane has executive oversight of maternity, patient experience, learning disability and, in January 2016, became executive lead for Patient and Public Participation.
She was awarded Doctorates by Edge Hill University and by Bucks New University, and she is a visiting professor at Kingston University and St George’s University, London.
She is also Director and trustee for Macmillan Cancer Support and a clinical Ambassador for the Over the Wall Children’s Charity where she volunteers as a nurse providing care for children affected by serious illnesses.
Follow Jane on Twitter: @JaneMCummings.
2 comments
She was awarded ***HONORARY*** Doctorates by Edge Hill University and by Bucks New University, and
she is a
*** visiting*** professor at Kingston University and St George’s University, London.
Oh, dear !
Great event Jane – looking forward to the day.