Today is International Nurses Day and staff at Bury Hospice are joining in the celebrations to mark the anniversary of the special event.

The occasion has been honoured by nurses since 1965 – on May 12 – the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, who is hailed as the founder of modern nursing – and is led by the International Council of Nurses (ICN).

Each year carries a theme and for 2022 it is "Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health".

Nursing staff around the world continue to go above and beyond to deliver highly skilled care to patients every single day.

Bury Hospice’s team of doctors, nurses, health care assistants and other professional staff provide specialist care and support for local people with terminal or life-limiting illnesses, in the Hospice and at home.

Director of clinical services Nicola Cheetham said: “Today is International Nurses Day.

"So I wanted to say happy nurses’ day to our fabulous clinical team here at the hospice and to our fellow nurses.

"I have always been proud to be a nurse and I’m privileged to have worked alongside some of the most inspirational, dedicated and compassionate nurses.

"In recent times nurses and care teams have shown their creativity, determination, incredible strength and team spirit.

"Today is a day to celebrate the amazing work that nurses do everywhere, every day.

"Happy nurses day everyone.”

Melissa Carney is a team leader in our inpatient unit and has worked for the hospice for over four years.

She said: “I worked in early pregnancy before joining the hospice and end of life care is just as important as the beginning.

"It is nice having the time to care for patients and their families in a hospice environment.”

We are delighted to have welcomed a new nurse to our inpatient unit.

Steph Barr has worked for the hospice for just three weeks.

She said: “I have been a nurse for nearly three years.

As a student nurse, I supported Macmillan, looking after people in the community.

My previous role was a staff nurse at The Christie.

"I have always wanted to work in palliative care. This is my third week and I love it.”

Bury Times:

Bury Hospice staff members Melissa Carney and Steph Barr

All of the services are provided free of charge but we need to raise £3.5m each year to fund its work.

It provides personalised, patient-centred care throughout a patient’s illness so they achieve the best quality of life.

For those who would like to support Bury Hospice and its nurses with a donation, visit www.buryhospice.org.uk/donate.

A donation of £40 could pay for two hours compassionate nursing care and a regular donation of £10 could pay for a visit by our specialist outreach team.