Celebrating our first National Children’s Nurses Day
We’re celebrating our amazing nurses who work together for babies, children and young patients across northeast London.
The Association of British Paediatric Nurses has launched the first ever National Children’s Nurses Day on Tuesday 30 June 2026 to recognise the extraordinary dedication and compassion the children’s nursing workforce brings to families.
As one of the largest providers of children’s services in the country, from neonatal and intensive care to children’s emergency departments, community nursing, specialist services, researching, safeguarding, mental health, health visiting and school nursing and many more, our children’s nurses support those who face significant health inequalities and complex needs and their families during some of the most challenging moments of their lives.
Kath Evans, director of children’s nursing at Barts Health shares: “We’re proud to champion our workforce of children’s nurses who work tirelessly for our youngest patients, placing them at the centre of their decision making throughout innovation, leadership and partnership work.
“National Children’s Nurses Day is a chance for us to celebrate their achievements that may inspire future children’s nurses. Most importantly, the day offers a chance to thank colleagues whose dedication and compassion make a world of difference every single day.”
The impact of our incredible nurses:
Hari was diagnosed with leukaemia at just four years old. Through countless trips to the Royal London Hospital, mum Sarah says the children’s nurses were the support system that carried their whole family, including little brother Sennen, through an unimaginably tough time.
Sarah shared: “We’re so grateful for the children’s nurses we’ve met on this crazy journey called life. They’ve held our hands, hugged us, and quite literally held us up. They made difficult interventions gentler with humour, and blown up more balloons than we can count.
“They helped us find moments of normality, even giving us syringes to play with at bath time. They’ve shown us what it means to be human in a frightening clinical environment. We felt their kindness every step of the way.”
We’re pleased to say that Hari is all better now. On Monday 29 June we held a celebration for our incredible nurses, where Sarah, Hari and Sennen shared their thanks - including a special message from the boys about what makes their dream nurse.
Shining a light on some of our nursing heroes:
Tricia May‑Parrott has transformed children’s care by creating the family liaison nurse role at Whipps Cross Hospital, ensuring families receive holistic support beyond the immediate emergency presentation.
She has personally reviewed over 428 frequent attenders, identified critical safeguarding gaps, and facilitated more than 242 referrals to essential services. Her award‑winning pilot achieved an 83% reduction in repeat Paeds ED visits, improving safety, stability, and the quality of care for vulnerable children.
Alongside Tricia, some of our inspiring nurses have been nominated as a children’s nurse hero. Find out more about their incredible achievements and why they have been nominated.
Ivone Lancoma‑Malcolm has driven a major shift in paediatric research by embedding research into everyday maternity and neonatal care across Newham, The Royal London, and Whipps Cross. She and her team were central to recruiting 8,970 babies, 24% of the UK total, into a crucial study investigating if new technology like the Neocam can detect congenital cataracts accurately for all babies.
As Newham serves one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the UK, their participation was scientifically crucial for ensuring the technology works for everyone, making them an essential part of delivering more equitable and representative research and a major contributor to the fight against avoidable childhood blindness.
Neil Fletcher and Jessica Semedo are transforming how young people move from children’s to adult services, ensuring transition is treated as a planned, supportive process rather than a single moment.
Neil has led Trust‑wide improvements for eight years, from developing staff communication workshops to shaping policy and digital systems that make transition safer and more developmentally appropriate.
Jessica, a Roald Dahl clinical nurse specialist, is a powerful advocate for young people’s voices, strengthening youth engagement and championing care that reflects their needs, goals and lived experiences.
As we highlight the remarkable contribution of individual nurses and teams, this day is a chance to highlight the partnerships between acute providers, community services, mental health teams, primary care, local authorities, education, social care and the voluntary, community and faith sectors.
All these powerful collaborations ensure local families receive person-centred care that recognises the wider factors shaping the health and wellbeing or our children.
If you’re interested in children’s nursing, begin you career with us or check out our current vacancies.