Duchess Of Cambridge To Become Champion Of Nurses

The Duchess, whose great-grandmother worked as a nurse during the First World War, aims to raise the “profile and status” of nurses, recognising them as experts who can tackle the “rising burdens” of disease.

Late this month, she will make a major speech at the launch of Nursing Now, a global campaign to ensure nurses are credited as “crucial”.

The Duchess’ own great-grandmother, Olive Middleton, is known to have worked as a nurse, caring for wounded servicemen after the Leeds estate belonging to a cousin was turned into a field hospital.

There, in Gledhow Hall, she is reported to have nursed men severely wounded on the Western front, learning the full horror of war. In 1920, she gave birth to the Duchess’ paternal grandfather Peter Middleton.

The Duchess, who is pregnant with her third child, is expected to deliver a speech in praise of the nursing profession, emphasising the importance of nurses being listened to as leaders.

The day will also see her visit the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) for an event encompassing maternal and newborn mortality, contraception, and the “stigma around women's health”.

The combination of events appear to be a clear new direction for the Duchess, aligning her more closely than ever with serious women’s issues.
She has previously concentrated closely on maternal mental health and the well-being of children.

Her interest in the Nursing Now campaign is understood to have been inspired by seeing the “vital” work of front-line medical staff in several other areas of her campaign work.

It will be considered an extension of her work into mental health, addiction and maternal health, which has seen her visit numerous hospitals and attend medical conferences.

Her husband, the Duke, worked as a search and rescue pilot, regularly dealing with front-line medical staff and previously speaking about the trauma of attending his first call-out to a suicide.

Kensington Palace said the Duchess will join a roundtable discussion with nurses from different countries and at different levels of seniority to “find out what it means to be a 21st century nurse”.

She will then speak at the launch of the three-year Nursing Now campaign, which aims to “empower” nurses to improve world health, “contribute to improved gender equality and build stronger economies”.

On the same day, February 27th, the Duchess will also visit the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), for an event encompassing maternal and newborn mortality, contraception, and the “stigma around women's health”.

http://www.airiters.com/2018/02/15/duchess-of-cambridge-to-become-champion-of-nurses/