Tribute paid to legacy of Florence Nightingale
Students from Edinburgh Napier University played a key role in a commemoration service for Florence Nightingale at Westminster Abbey.
The university’s students were chosen to fulfil the central ceremonial task of ‘escorting the lamp’ at the prestigious event.
The annual service reflects on the life and legacy to healthcare of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, who is celebrated for her role in organising the treatment of wounded soldiers during the Crimean War.
The public service, on Wednesday evening, honoured nurses who died in the service of others, and celebrated and gave thanks for the nursing and midwifery professions.
During the service, a lamp – symbolising Florence Nightingale, ‘The Lady with the Lamp’ –was taken from the Florence Nightingale Chapel and escorted by a procession of nurses to the altar.
Twenty-six students and seven members of staff from Edinburgh Napier’s School of Health & Social Care travelled to London to take part in the ceremony.
A spokesman for Edinburgh Napier said: “This is a very prestigious event and it is a great honour for the school and the university that we were chosen to provide students for the lamp procession. We believe we are the first university in Scotland to be asked to take part in the service.”
The Florence Nightingale Foundation also hosted an annual students’ day, attended by students from all over the world, on the day of the service.