A series of events took place this month at venues across Essex, to celebrate and thank Essex nurses and midwives for their hard work, compassion, and commitment caring for patients and their families. A number of familiar faces from the world of entertainment and sport from across Essex also supported the campaign. A video supporting the campaign has also been created which can be viewed by accessing the following link: https://spark.adobe.com/video/pAn0WhuUnBfvV

As the face of our health service our nurses and midwives make an essential difference to health outcomes and patient’s recovery. Nurses and midwives in the county also provide support by helping families and patients through some of their most stressful times.

The events, attended by well over 200 nurses and midwives, aimed to support them to be the very best they can by recognising the demands of the profession and celebrating their achievements and thanking and rewarding them for the incredible work they undertake every day.

Key themes of the days, which were organised through the Mid and South Essex Local Workforce Action Board, were building and developing personal resilience, developing an approach to mindfulness, and facing your fears.

Diane Sarkar, Chief Nursing Officer, Mid and South Essex University Hospitals Group, said:

“I am delighted to have had such an opportunity to celebrate the immense contribution our nurses and midwives make every day both in our hospitals and out and about in our communities supporting and caring for the people of mid and south Essex.

“The conferences were an opportunity for us as senior nurses and midwives to not only thank them, but also to support and inspire them to continue to develop their careers and share in the exciting opportunities working more closely together brings us.”

Tricia D’Orsi, Chief Nurse for NHS Southend and NHS Castle Point and Rochford CCG said:

“Nurses really are the heartbeat of the NHS. It’s no exaggeration to say that the NHS simply couldn’t function without the hard work, dedication and commitment that Nurses show when they come to work every day providing care 24 hour a day 7 days a week.”

“As a Chief Nurse I am humbled by the many examples of high quality, safe and compassionate patient care that go well beyond the call of duty every single day. Their

dedication goes well beyond just a job and I and many others owe them a great deal and they have my full sport, gratitude and respect”.

Feedback online from the events included:

“Had a great day learning about positive thinking, mindfulness and hearing shared experiences from other nurses today. Definitely cannot wait to put some of the things I learnt into action” and “brilliant day with the nurses from mid and south-Essex learning how to engage our minds empower for success and valuing individuals”

Those wishing to send messages of thanks and support to nurses in Essex can still get involved via social media using the hashtag #LoveEssexnurses and #thanksforcaring () or any other local NHS social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram.

ENDS

Notes to Editor

The Mid and South Essex Sustainability and Transformation Partnership brings together all those organisations with responsibility for commissioning or providing health and social care services to the local population.

The Partnership has formed a Local Workforce Action Board with representation from all organisations who are working together to support our workforce through joint career development, recruitment and retention opportunities.

For further information please contact the communications team: