To celebrate the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife - as well as the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale - The Queen's Nursing Institute will be holding a celebratory event, the QNI Festival of Community Nursing, on Saturday 20th June in Liverpool.

Florence Nightingale worked closely with the philanthropist William Rathbone VI, who was responsible for creating the first professional District Nursing service in Liverpool in 1859. Rathbone and Nightingale were instrumental in founding the Liverpool Training School and Home for Nurses, which opened in 1862 next to the Liverpool Royal Infirmary. In 1887, it was their vision that led to the establishment of The Queen’s Nursing Institute. The QNI operated the William Rathbone Staff College in Liverpool until the late 1970s and maintains strong links with the city. https://qniheritage.org.uk/history/william-rathbone/

This free event will be open to the public and we will be offering a range of educational activities including an exhibition of vintage nursing uniforms, photographs and artefacts, free health checks, talks on nursing subjects past and present, film screenings, guest appearances by local celebrities, and a walking tour of historic nursing sites including the Nightingale Memorial, led by a local guide.

The event will be held in Liverpool Town Hall, a magnificent listed building dating from 1749.