Nurses ‘are expert professionals, not heroes’, England’s chief nursing officer says

‘We are expert professionals who are doing our jobs and providing skilled, compassionate care,’ England’s chief nursing officer Ruth May states

Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, outside St Thomas's Hospital in central London on International Nurses Day, 12 May 2020 (PA)

England’s chief nursing officer has stressed that nurses are “expert professionals, not heroes” while highlighting the pivotal work “that nurses deliver day in, day out”.

On Tuesday 12 May, Ruth May spoke at an event outside St Thomas’ Hospital in central London to honour International Nurses Day, which this year marks the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.

During the event, Ms May touched upon the misconceptions that are continuing to surround the nursing profession throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

“It isn’t the Year of the Nurse we all wanted. But in many ways the spotlight is even more on the care, the expertise, the skill that nurses deliver day in, day out,” the chief nursing officer said.

Ms May continued, stated that while she is “very pleased that people show their appreciation” for nurses and other key workers on Thursdays during the weekly Clap For Our Carers event, “these people, these nurses, are professionals”.

“I’ve seen a few (misconceptions) about us being heroes, about us being there with our hat,” Ms May said.

“No, we’re not heroes – we are expert professionals who are doing our jobs and providing skilled, compassionate care, and nurses and midwives across England should be very proud of themselves right now.”

She said that she hopes a “bumper crop” of people will be inspired to join the nursing profession later this year.

“Please, come and join us. It is challenging, it is hard work, but it is a huge privilege to be a nurse,” Ms May stated.

The chief nursing officer attended the event at St Thomas’ Hospital alongside around 20 nurses, who were all socially distanced from one another.

The hospital marks the location where Florence Nightingale opened her nursing school 160 years ago.

Toni Lynch, deputy chief nurses at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation trust, explained how Nightingale’s work continues to influence modern nursing.

“We know her as a pioneer and a trailblazer and she bucked the trend in some ways,” Ms Lynch told PA.

“She started to set out some of the key principles of nursing that we hold dear today – for example, the principles of hand washing and infection prevention and control.”

Ms Lynch also spoke about keeping morale high during the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that working on the frontline has been “hugely rewarding”.

“It’s really upbeat. Most people have had to change what they do... So we’ve had to come together as a nursing team,” she said.

“The morale has been really upbeat as we galvanised as a team.”

In late April, it was reported that more than 100 NHS and care home workers had died after contracting Covid-19 while working on the frontline.