​The  Inaugural Windrush Nurses and Beyond Foundation Awards Ceremony

The 20th October, 2012 marked the inaugural Windrush Nurses and Beyond Award's Ceremony which recognised the exceptional contributions of those migrants who came from the Caribbean and African continent in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s to work and build our present day National Health Service.

 

During this period of change and austerity within the NHS, we wanted to to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those hard working nurses and allied professionals within the National Health Service. Between 1948 and 1973, for a period of 25 years, as many as 100,000 nurses from the Caribbean and African continent came to work and train as nurses in the NHS.

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The average age of the Windrush nurses was 19, many of whom would go on to dedicate over 40 years to the health service. These nurses worked tirelessly to ensure the health and wellbeing of all patients whilst making the NHS the envy of the world, yet there has been little recognition or acknowledgement of their outstanding contribution until now.

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With this in mind, the Windrush Nurses and Beyond Foundation presented their inaugural Awards at InterContinental Hotel in Park Lane, in the presence of their patron, Baroness Howells of St. Davids, OBE on Saturday 20th October as part of the national celebration for Black History Month.  Also in attendance were Baroness Scotland, Diane Abbott, MP – Shadow Minister for Public Health, community leaders and many leading dignitaries.

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Our winners were able to demonstrate either one or all of the following:

They demonstrated excellence in their field of practice.

  They made a significant contribution to the nation’s health care throughout their career.

 They were proven to be an inspirational role model for the nursing/healthcare/clinical profession and the wider community.

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