Social care nurses and care workers invited to join coronation celebrations
12 May 2023
5 min read
- Good news story
- Nursing
- Skills for Care
This #GoodNewsFriday we hear about the coronation celebrations the social care workforce were invited to attend, including the Royal Garden Party and the Coronation Procession.
Lyn Mataranyika, a registered nurse and the Registered Manager of Springbank Nursing Home was one of the social care professionals nominated to attend the Royal Garden Party.
Following the party, she told us:
I’m still celebrating the opportunity I was given to attend the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Place.
When I received the initial phone call saying I had been nominated to attend I felt overwhelmed. It really made me feel recognised and valued in the social care sector.
Lyn told us that she had a great time at the party, where she was stood less than a metre from the King and Queen, and enjoyed music from The Band of The King's Division while having cups of tea and a variety of tasty food.
She also told us that she’s been sharing the experience with her friends and family and it’s made them feel motivated to make a difference in their own workplaces.
For Lyn the celebrations came just a week before the celebration of nurses today for International Nurses Day. Lyn says that this day is important in recognising the nursing profession and valuing the good work of social care nursing, and highlights the importance of and opportunity for all nursing and care professionals to work together and value the nursing profession.
Lyn was inspired to become a nurse after the death of her own father. She chose to specialise in dementia as her father had been diagnosed with vascular dementia post-mortem.
Speaking about her love of being a nurse she told us:
I enjoy working in a nursing home as a nurse and care home manager with the aim of making a difference in people living with dementia as well as people with other health ailments.
Other attendees who were invited to attend the Royal Garden Party included Marlene Kelly Registered Manager and Director at Auburn Mere Care Home; Nigel Taylor Group Head of Learning and Development at CareTech; Zoe Richardson Director of Operations/Deputy CEO at Sir Josiah Mason Trust (SJMT); Ruth Pownall, Director/Registered Manager at Elder Years Care Ltd, and Lara Bywater, Director, LDC Care Co.
Zoe said:
I felt incredibly honoured and humbled to have been nominated to attend. I really wanted to make sure that I shared the day with as many staff and residents from SJMT but also my colleagues at Vision Homes Association as well as the amazing team at Engage Britain. Every moment of the day was for me a moment to celebrate all of them, all the amazing people that I've been able to work with during my career in social care and I felt really honoured to represent them all. The day was full of sunshine and ceremony which made it truly a British occasion. The brass band played throughout the day as the King and Queen chatted and smiled to all that attended. It truly was a day I will never forget and I'm truly grateful to have been nominated to attend.
Ruth said:
It was an amazing day and I felt really privileged that through Skills for Care I was able to represent Adult Social Care and the important work that we do to make a difference.
Lara said:
It was an absolutely wonderful feeling to be part of such an auspicious day in such an historic week. It was humbling to be amongst so many phenomenal citizens.
Skills for Care was also pleased to be able to support the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in distributing tickets for the Coronation Procession to social care workers.
A limited number of tickets were allocated to health and social care workers to recognise their hard work and important contribution to our communities.
We were delighted to see attendees sharing how much they enjoyed their experience on social media.
Community Integrated Care tweeted:
What a day our people had watching the King’s Coronation Procession outside Buckingham Palace.
One attendee named Kirsty tweeted:
What a day! Even in the rain! Thank you to Skills for Care and DHSC for the opportunity to be alongside health and social care colleagues celebrating today.
Nurse Lisa O’Brien posted on LinkedIn:
Thank you Skills for Care for the wonderful tickets to be part of the coronation. Wonderful atmosphere and a fantastic day.
Another nurse, Amanda Rae tweeted:
We had the best day at the coronation. Thanks you Skills for Care and DHSC for making it possible, proud to work in social care, proud to be a Queen’s Nurse at the Queen’s Nursing Institute.
We're so pleased everyone had a great time.
If you have a good news story to share, send it to marketing@skillsforcare.org.uk
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