Social care nurse carries the Nightingale lamp at Westminster Abbey

Emily Pimm, who qualified as a nurse in 2006, works as a social care deputy manager at John Wills House Care Home in Westbury-on-Trym, which is run by the St Monica Trust.

“Being the lamp carrier is a real opportunity to build on all the work being done to promote the social care sector to nurses”

Emily Pimm

Ms Pimm was awarded a Florence Nightingale Foundation leadership scholarship in 2022 and has gone on to become co-chair of the South West’s Social Care Nurse Advisory Council (SCNAC).

She is the first nurse from the adult social care sector to be chosen as the lamp carrier and was nominated from hundreds of Florence Nightingale scholars.

The service, held at Westminster Abbey on 15 May with more than 2,000 guests, is an annual celebration of thanks for nurses and midwives across the UK who continue Florence Nightingale’s legacy.

It features a ceremonial lamp representing Florence Nightingale’s famous moniker as the “Lady with the Lamp”, in recognition of her nightly rounds tending to soldiers wounded in the Crimean War.

This year’s ceremony will mark the 204th anniversary year of the founder of modern nursing’s birth on 12 May 1820.

During the service, Ms Pimm carried the burning lamp through the abbey after which it was placed on the altar.

She was supported by Matt Brayford, mental health leadership and succession programme manager for Health Education and Improvement Wales, and Bev Summerhays, deputy head of nursing at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The lamp party was also escorted by a group of Florence Nightingale Foundation scholars and student nurses from the University of Chichester.

Ms Pimm said she was very honoured to be the lamp carrier. “I’m so proud to represent social care nurses and to celebrate what has been an exciting and pivotal year for the care sector,” she said.

She added that her leadership scholarship and role with SCNAC had helped to fuel her “passion to raise the voice and elevate the visibility of social care nurses”.

She said: “There are thousands of amazing nurses out there, but social care is not always at the forefront of people’s minds when thinking about career pathways or educational development.

“Being the lamp carrier is a real opportunity to build on all the work being done to promote the social care sector to nurses and I feel very honoured for the opportunity to be a part of that.”

England’s chief nurse for social care, Deborah Sturdy, said: “I am pleased that in the 59th year of the Florence Nightingale Commemorative Service we will see Emily Pimm carry the lamp in this year’s procession and shine the light on social care nursing for the very first time.”

Ms Pimm’s employer, the St Monica Trust, is a charity that operates five retirement villages and four care homes across Bristol and North Somerset.

It provides accommodation, care and support for older and disabled people in Bristol and surrounding counties, specialising in enabling residents to maintain their independence.

A not-for-profit organisation, the trust employs more than 1,200 people and offers a preceptorship scheme for newly qualified nurses.

St Monica’s chief executive, David Williams, said: “We cannot think of a more appropriate advocate for adult social care nursing than Emily and this is a well-deserved acknowledgement of all her achievements, both within the trust and as a Florence Nightingale Foundation scholar.

“Since she joined us in 2015, Emily has consistently displayed a passion for ensuring that our residents can flourish within our care home environments and lead meaningful lives full of connection, contribution and choice. We could not be more proud of her.”

The annual service to commemorate the life of Florence Nightingale returned this year to Westminster Abbey, having been held in 2023 at St Paul’s Cathedral due to the coronation.

It has been held every year without interruption since 1965 except for 2020 when it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The current lamp was first used for the service in 1970, the 150th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.

In addition to the lamp procession, those present at the service remembered nurses and midwives named in two rolls of honour.

The Covid-19 Pandemic Roll of Honour, introduced in 2022, is dedicated to all nurses, midwives, nursing associates and healthcare support workers who provided care during the Covid-19 pandemic and lists the names of the nursing and midwifery staff who died.

It was carried through the cathedral by the chief nursing officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland – Dame Ruth May, Sue Tranka and Maria McIlgorm – as well as Professor Jacqui Reilly, director of nursing and executive lead for NHS National Services Scotland.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Roll of Honour, introduced in 1965, commemorates nurses who lost their lives on active service during World War II.

It was carried by leading naval nurse Alicia Castello, from Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service, who was escorted by other nurses representing the army, navy and air force.

NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard and UK health and social care secretary Victoria Atkins also attended the service, with the latter giving a reading.

St Paul’s Cathedral also has links with Florence Nightingale, having held a public memorial service after her death on 13 August 1910 and has a memorial stone dedicated to her in its crypt.

The lamp party escorted by Florence Nightingale Foundation scholars and students from Chichester University