On behalf of the people of Waverley who care – Thank you for your service.
Nearly 20 nurses and midwives in the country made the New Year’s Honours List.
But as far as we are concerned – they all deserve a big fat gong.
Anyone connected with the nursing/caring profession could be forgiven for thinking it is all bad news.
The NHS has endured years of budgets shrinking in real terms, as costs have risen. The nursing workforce faces what could be described as a perfect storm: fears over Brexit are affecting international recruitment, while domestic recruitment is hampered by years of stagnant pay or below inflation rises and the scrapping of student bursaries are making the profession less attractive. All this at the same time as large numbers of experienced nurses approach retirement age – or are giving up due to stress.
There is always such a cornucopia of bad news to write about, and it is vital to air these issues, but it is great to celebrate those nurses whose efforts have been rewarded, and the many thousands of unsung heroes who went unrecognised.
One of the highlights of looking through the honours list was to see those nurses rewarded for the huge efforts they make – some of whom earn less than a great many domestic helps. They often travel throughout the night across counties and borough’s including Waverley and Surrey, caring for the sick and dying. Some enduring the winter ice and fog, along poorly maintained roads and which are now without the benefit of street lights, and in rural areas where there is no phone signal!
So in this Season of Goodwill – lets give three very loud cheers, for all those nurses and midwives who work tirelessly in our hospitals and out in the community, most of whom will never receive national recognition.
They will just get on with the job they trained hard for throughout 2017, for scant reward except for our eternal thanks.