NI Chief Nursing Officer pays tribute to contribution of nurses at Nurse of the Year 2019 ceremony
Date published:
Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Professor Charlotte McArdle last night praised nurses for their valued contribution to the health service of Northern Ireland.
Professor McArdle was attending the Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year 2019 Awards ceremony in the Culloden Hotel, Belfast hosted by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
The CNO paid tribute and acknowledged the unique contribution of all nurses in the HSC system. She said: “I want to publicly thank each and every nurse and midwife for their dedication and commitment to making a difference to the people of Northern Ireland, because without their continued professionalism, determination and resilience our health service would simply not be able to function.”
She congratulated all the finalists and said: “I congratulate you all on your achievements, I was very impressed by all the nurses and healthcare assistants nominated for the awards last night. The demonstrable benefits for care in all of the categories are both innovative and encouraging.
“As nurses we are the back-bone of our health care system and it is our collective leadership responsibility to instil hope and optimism and find solutions together. I believe our nurses at all levels have the critical thinking skills, energy, compassion and enthusiasm to transform health care.
“I also want to celebrate our resilience as a profession, which I know has been tested in recent times. The essence of reliance is keeping hope alive in the face setbacks and when we have limited resources.
“As Chief Nursing Officer, I want to assure you that we do understand and share your concerns about the challenges being faced across nursing, and that despite the current constraints we have been proactively progressing a range of initiatives to support and strengthen the workforce.”
Notes to editors:
- The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year Awards is now in its 23rd Year. The award ceremony was hosted by TV personality and Nursing Now Ambassador Sarah Travers
- The purpose of the annual awards is to celebrate nursing and the contribution that nurses in Northern Ireland make to patient and client care.
- There are fifteen award categories.
- A full list of award winners is available from Lisa Holden, Media Officer, RCN, 07789691505 or after the ceremony will be found at: www.rcn.org.uk/northernireland
- For media enquiries please contact the Department of Health Press Office on 028 9052 0074 or email: pressoffice@health-ni.gov.uk. For out of hours please contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 9037 8110.
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