New trees planted at Wigan Infirmary to pay tribute on International Nurses' Day

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust yesterday paid tribute to its staff during the first global Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

As well as being International Nurses’ Day, yesterday marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, who founded modern nursing and pioneered infection control.

The trust wanted to show its appreciation to its nurses by planting trees in their honour and by lighting its new Tree of Hope blue at Wigan Infirmary.

The trees were planted by staff yesterday afternoon near the hospital’s Christopher Home building.

They paid tribute to the efforts of those nurses dedicated to caring for patients, along with remembering colleagues who have died during the coronavirus pandemic.

The tree planting also marked National ODP Day, which falls tomorrow and recognises the work of operating department practitioners.

Helen Richardson, chief nurse at the trust, said: “All our staff at WWL are caring for patients at what is an unprecedented time for the NHS.

“On International Nurses’ Day we wanted to say thank you to our nurses and all our staff and to particularly recognise the contribution of the profession of nursing. I am, as chief nurse, incredibly proud of the compassion and professionalism our nurses show in providing the best possible care to our patients and the support they show to one another. They are truly exceptional.

“Many of the celebrations we had planned for a year that is the first ever global Year of the Nurse and Midwives have been put on hold due to the pandemic. We wanted to mark the importance of the professions and pay tribute to our staff by planting new trees in their honour.

“Many former nurses have returned to help the NHS with the greatest health emergency in its history.

“It’s no different here at WWL, we are extremely thankful for those who have returned to work and to our healthcare students choosing to take up extended clinical placements. We’re actively encouraging people to still come and join our WWL family.

“We’d love to do more for to celebrate International Nurses’ Day, but this occasion falls in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and we’re restricted in what we can do.

“I sincerely hope in some way our tree planting and our huge thanks goes some way to showing our support to not only my colleagues here, but across the country.”

Wiganers were last night asked to mark International Nurses’ Day by “shining a light” for the nurses to show their gratitude. Light is a visible symbol of welcome, hope and warmth.

NHS Wigan Borough CCG last week asked people to send videos and pictures honouring nurses as it prepared to celebrate the day.

Wiganers could submit short clips sharing their story and gratitude, or pictures of themselves holding up a message or a poster.

They would be collated to create a montage thanking nurses and midwives.

A message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.