Afternoon tea at Ashlands Manor to celebrate International Nurses Day

A group of 11 ladies of all ages gathered for afternoon tea at Ashlands Manor to celebrate International Nurses Day. With a theme of ‘nursing through the times’, the ladies enjoyed tea and coffee and delicious cakes as they discussed their careers as nurses.

The group comprised six nurses who work at Ashlands Manor currently, plus five residents at the care home who used to be nurses or midwives.

The lounge was decorated with lots of old pictures of the residents both training and working as nurses displayed, allowing them all to reminisce. There were also large ‘thank you’ banners up and goody bags for the group full of thoughtful gifts.

Ashlands Manor resident Margaret Stone, aged 95, said: “Nursing is a career either you like it, or you don’t. You are in it, or you are not. Nursing is special and not everyone can do it. I worked in Manchester and London, mainly general nursing and as a Health Visitor, and I enjoyed every moment of it.”

While 91-year-old Denise Shaw added: “It’s a good job. Take it with a smile.”

Children’s nurse Pauline Marques, who worked in Zambia and the UK, commented: “You need a lot of patience as a nurse because you don’t only take care of the patient, you also take care of the people close to them. This applies worldwide.

“When I worked in Sheffield, we had bespoke sleeping arrangements for mothers. We were the first hospital to introduce sleeping arrangements for parents, and it meant a lot to them.”

Ashlands Manor registered home manager Michaela O’Brien comments: “The International Nurses Day celebrations were wonderful. Both staff and residents enjoyed the afternoon tea, the gifts, and the chance to share stories with each other.

“The residents loved reliving and talking about their careers, with the old photographs being a great way to spark a memory, whilst the staff were able to spend quality time with these residents talking all things nursing, as well as getting advice from them!”

New Care, now part of the Lovett Care Group, is one of the UK’s leading care home operators with a portfolio of stunning care facilities and an enviable reputation for outstanding care that is second to none.

Ashlands Manor, located in Sale, is a stunning 57-bed state-of-the-art care facility offering individual, person-centred residential, dementia, and 24-hour nursing care. For further information, please call 0161 675 1927 or visit www.newcarehomes.com.