Queen Elizabeth II – a beautiful bond of support for nurses and nursing
While the entire UK nursing leaders mourn Queen Elizabeth II’s death and recall the close ties she forged serving the nation, it is also time to pay tribute to her amazing work as a champion of nursing throughout her 70-year reign.
She helped raise the profile of the profession as a royal patron of organisations around the UK. During the coronavirus pandemic, she recognised nurses’ efforts and established the COVID-19 award in her Birthday Honours, which many nurses received.
The Queen first became involved with the RCN’s work in 1944, when she served as president of the Student Nurses Association as a young Princess Elizabeth. Following her coronation in 1953, she was appointed royal patron of the RCN.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen expressed the college’s condolences, noting that the Queen was a dedicated patron with a long connection to the nursing community.
‘During her reign, the Queen visited many nursing staff and will be fondly remembered by those who had the opportunity to meet and share their experiences with her,’ she said.
‘During this difficult time, our thoughts are with Her Majesty’s family.’ Nursing staff across the UK will miss her.’
Serving the nation for 70 years
Meanwhile, Andrea Sutcliffe, NMC chief executive, expressed the organization’s “sincere condolences” to the Royal Family.
Following her long reign, she stated that “people all over the world will be mourning her loss, including many of our NMC colleagues and the professionals on our register.”
‘Hers was a lifetime of service, including a special moment in our history when she opened our refurbished building at 23 Portland Place on December 18, 1986,’ she continued. We appreciate her dedication, commitment, and leadership. ‘May she find peace.’
The NMC stated that its core regulatory work will continue as usual for the time being, but it will update its website if state funeral arrangements have an impact on its work.
On behalf of the Council, QNI staff, and Queen’s Nurses, the QNI issued a statement expressing “heartfelt condolences” to the Royal Family.
It was stated that the Queen’s Nurses are “inextricably linked to the Queen as our Royal Patron,” with Queen’s Nurses working “in her name” as a “great supporter of nursing and healthcare throughout her long reign.”
‘They will continue to work in Her Majesty the Queen’s name, and each and every one of our Queen’s Nurses are deeply saddened by the death of our beloved Royal Patron,’ it added.
The title of Queen’s Nurse was reintroduced in a different form in 2007, which ‘led to such a growth in the appreciation and understanding of the work of community nurses,’ it added.
‘We are deeply saddened by the death of Queen Elizabeth II, our Patron,’ said Dr. Crystal Oldman, QNI chief executive. ‘During her reign, she was an outstanding supporter of the QNI and nursing nationally and internationally.’
The Royal College of Midwives chief executive, Gill Walton, who was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June this year, told Nursing in Practice that the organisation is ‘deeply saddened by her death and that their thoughts are with ‘the entire Royal Family.’
‘As a Queen’s Nurse, I feel so privileged to have been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours for community nursing,’ Sharon Aldridge-Bent, director of nursing programs – leadership at the QNI, told Nursing in Practice. She said it feels like a genuine historical moment and that the Queen’s death fills her with both pride and sadness.
Meanwhile, International Council of Nurses CEO Howard Catton said that as a British nurse, Queen Elizabeth was a constant part of our lives for as long as many of us can remember, carrying her people through some of the most difficult of times, and this will be felt as a personal loss. It is necessary to mourn for her, share and give praise to her.
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