Big hearted nurses get involved in sculpture
Nurses from Shropshire’s two acute hospitals turned sculptors to help create a piece of art that is being created to mark 70 years of the NHS.
The unique heart sculpture, which is being made by artist Luke Kite at the The British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry, will be unveiled at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s Charity Fun Day on Saturday July 7.
A number of off-duty nurses from the trust, which runs The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital, travelled to the centre and helped weld some of the items onto the sculpture.
Old pieces of equipment that can no longer be used or repaired include: obsolete blood pressure monitors, parts of hospital beds, surgical hands, microscopes, a former anaesthetic machine and wheelchairs are being used to created the lasting tribute to the NSH.
Karen Breese, Clinical Specialist Nurse for Dementia, who welded a broken part of a wheelchair onto the sculpture, said: “It is looking amazing and I am thrilled to have had the chance to play my part creating it.
“I have never welded anything in my life so this was a totally new experience for me. It was great fun and I am told I did a good job. I look forward to finding the piece I did when the sculpture is unveiled to the public.
“The sculpture is being designed as a heart to reflect the nation’s love of the NHS and I think everyone is going to love what the artist has produced. It is so exciting”
When welding the items onto the sculpture the nurses were supervised by Clive Knowles, owner and chairman of the British Ironwork Centre.
He said: “Think NHS, think hospitals and you think nurses. They are the ones who care for us and our families when either we or someone we love is taken to hospital, so to have a few of them join us today to help create this very special sculpture is most fitting.
“We are creating something that will stand the test of time and not only reflects our love for the NHS but also the kind, caring and hard-working people who work at SaTH. Today we have done one better by getting some of those wonderful people to help produce the sculpture.”
The sculpture will be unveiled as part of the official opening of the Charity Fun Day, which will celebrate 70 years of the NHS. The day will raise funds for the organisation’s Live Well With Dementia Appeal and The Swan End of Life Care Appeal.
