International Nurses’ Day is celebrated around the world on 12th May – the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth and it is an opportunity to thank our nurses who are available to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This year, the theme of the day is the need to invest more in our nurses who are so very much the backbone of our healthcare system.

‘Lo, it is I’

Sophie Hacker’s ‘The Calling Window’ in Romsey Abbey reflects the event in Florence Nightingale’s life when, at the age of 16, she received a clear ‘call’ from God. In the window, the light radiates out in the shape of the cross. For Florence, Good Friday represented the most important day of the Christian year, reflecting her lifelong choice, just like the nurses of today, to place sacrifice and service above all things.