20 August 2010

Celebrating 150 years of the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery at King's College London, Wellcome Collection opens its doors for a late night extravaganza showcasing the complexity of nursing and midwifery care in the 21st century.

Co-created by the staff and students of the School, 'Handle with Care' explores the critical roles that science and the senses play in nursing and midwifery today and reflects on changing practice over the past 150 years, through film, performance, music, talks and a range of interactive activities.

Handle with Care
Friday 17 September 2010, 19.00-23.00
Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE
FREE entry, no need to book

The evening will unfold around a variety of 'stations' throughout the building, each exploring different aspects of modern nursing and midwifery practice. Find out why bikers need to look after their legs and meet a beekeeper to learn why honey isn't just spread on toast. How has nutritional care changed since Florence's day? Taste Crimean beef tea and traditional junket while learning about modern day nutrition and holistic health management. Explore efforts to tackle infant mortality and leave us your anecdotes for our memory cradle, or sit back and enjoy films such as 'Red Cross Pluck' in a short programme of silent films accompanied by live music. The new smart phone app 'Navigating Nightingale' will also be unveiled.

A talks programme will include insights about Florence from her biographer Mark Bostridge and army nurse Lieutenant Colonel Janet Pilgrim describing the challenges of contemporary nursing on the front line. Dubbed 'Florence of Arabia', Janet received the prestigious Royal Red Cross medal for outstanding services, devotion to duty and professional competence in British military nursing during the Iraq conflict.

A mini exhibition organised by the Design Council will showcase design solutions to address infection control, and improve patient dignity. See prototypes of innovative new products including a universal patient gown, a wipe-clean blood pressure cuff and a simple timing device to indicate how long an intravenous drip has been in place.

Professor Anne-Marie Rafferty, Dean of the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery said: 'I am delighted that the School has co-created this innovative event - a cornucopia of care. It celebrates the creative contribution of nurses and midwives to the craft of care, building on the past as well as being focussed on the future. The event brings together artists and designers with nurses, midwives, historians and biographers in a new creative collaboration. We are thrilled to be working with Wellcome Collection in this exciting way.'

Ken Arnold, Head of Public Programmes at the Wellcome Trust, comments: "Nurses and midwives are often the unsung heroes of our healthcare system and few stop to consider the diversity and flexibility of their role. 'Handle with Care' invites visitors to celebrate 150 years of nursing as a profession and learn more about what it means to be a modern day nurse or midwife".

The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery was the world's first professional school of nursing and was established by Florence Nightingale in 1860. Today, the school develops leading-edge nurses and midwives of tomorrow - practitioners, partners, and leaders in their field.

As part of the 150th anniversary celebrations, the School have also convened an academic symposium, 'Navigating Nightingale', at Wellcome Collection on Saturday 18 September. The symposium will see the life and work of Florence Nightingale discussed from a wide variety of angles including war studies, history of medicine, celebrity and the media, religion, travel and life writing. For further information about Navigating Nightingale and how to register, visit the website.

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Media contact

Jen Middleton
Media Officer, Wellcome Trust
T 020 7611 7262
M 07534 143 849
E j.middleton@wellcome.ac.uk

Notes to editors

Please note, staff and students from the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery and invited experts are unable to provide medical advice under any circumstances, to visitors or participants during 'Handle with Care'.

Wellcome Collection is a free visitor destination for the incurably curious. Located at 183 Euston Road, London, Wellcome Collection explores the connections between medicine, life and art in the past, present and future. The building comprises three gallery spaces, a public events programme, the Wellcome Library, a café, a bookshop, conference facilities and a members' club.

Wellcome Collection is part of the Wellcome Trust, a global charity dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities; its breadth of support including public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. The Trust is independent of both political and commercial interests.

Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery - celebrating 150 years
The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery at King's College London is the world's first professional School of nursing established by Florence Nightingale in 1860 and this year celebrates its 150th anniversary.

The number one Nursing and Midwifery School in London and highly regarded by leading London NHS Trusts with links to industry, health services and policy makers, the School develops leading-edge nurses and midwives of tomorrow - practitioners, partners, and leaders in their field.

The School has over 1000 full-time students training to be nurses and midwives plus an extensive portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate activities to meet the needs of a wide range of healthcare professionals seeking continuing professional development. The School is at the forefront of health services, policy and evaluation research and home to the influential National Nursing Research Unit (NNRU) - the only Department of Health-funded unit of its kind in England.

King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2009) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 22 000 students from nearly 140 countries, and more than 5700 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.

King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King’s Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services.