Filipino nurses at midwives, binigyang pugay ni King Charles III

LONDON - Siya ang Hari sa United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at Commonwealth Realms, pero sa halip na siya ang tumanggap ng pagpupugay, siya ang nagbigay pugay sa mga nagtatrabahong nurse at midwives sa National Health Service o NHS workers.

Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon may tinatayang 50 Filipino NHS workers ang ipinatawag ni King Charles III para sa selebrasyon ng kanyang ika-75 kaarawan at pagdiriwang din ng ika-75 anibersaryo ng kapanganakan o pagkatatag sa NHS.

Ginanap ang Buckingham Palace Reception para sa may 400 bisita noong Martes, November 14. Sa loob ng Buckingham Palace, mga opisyal ng Department of Health and Social Care at NHS ang sumalubong kay King Charles III, tulad nina Chief Nursing Officer of England, Dame Ruth May; Chief Executive of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard; Professional Regulatory Advisor for the Scottish Government, Professor Donna O’Boyle Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for Northern Ireland, Mary Frances McManus, at iba pa. Kasama rin dito si Philippine Ambassador to the UK Teodoro Locsin, Jr.

“When I presented my credentials to the King, he said, I want to meet the nurse, they are the ones who really was so critical, and listening to the stewards, and all of them he kept insisting on it, again and again and making the number (Filipino attendees) larger and larger, This is what I can say: this King, it’s in his heart; and second, this is how you honour nurses.”

King Charles III: “Thank you”

Naatasan ding sumalubong sa Hari ang kauna-unahang Filipino Chief Nurse ng NHS na si Oliver Soriano. Siya ngayon ang highest ranking Filipino nurse sa UK. Dati rin siyang pinuno ng Philippine Nurses Association UK.

Ang naatasang magpakilala kay Soriano sa Hari, isang Pinay senior level nurse ng NHS na si Jen Rubino, International Recruitment and Ethnic Minorities Nurse Advisor for NHS England.

Sabi ni Soriano, may ipinahatid na mensahe sa kanya para sa Filipino health care workers.

“Ang sabi niya- ‘We got 48 thousand Filipino nurses registered here in in the UK’ and one of the things he actually said was: ‘can you say to the Filipino nursing community, thank you so much for all their great work here in the UK”, kuwento ni Soriano, Executive Chief Nursing Officer of Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Trust

Ang may higit 400 bisita sa Buckingham Palace ay maliit na bahagi ng 150 thousand international midwives and nurses sa NHS, na dumaan pa sa mabusising nominasyon bago naimbitahan sa Palasyo.

Nagmula sila sa mga bansang tulad ng Kenya, India, Philippines at Poland, sila ang National Health Service key workers na nais na personal na pasalamatan ng Hari sa kanyang kaarawan. Sila raw kasi ang mga bayani noong panahon ng pandemya.

Sabi ni Louie Horne, na Senior Matron at ginawaran ng British Empire Medal dahil sa kanyang kontribusyon sa NHS noong panahon ng pandemya, ngayon lang naganap ito sa higit 50 taong pagtatrabaho ng mga Pinoy Nurses sa UK.

“Today is very special because its 460 nurses from different nations and remember NHS has 201 Nationalities,” sabi niya.

Dagdag pa ni Horne: “I was grabbed by the Chief Nursing Officer of England to actually meet the King for the second time, and I said ‘Happy Birthday your Majesty’ and he said (in jest), ‘I don’t want to be reminded of my age."

Star-struck at excited ang mga Pinoy sa pagharap sa Hari.

“Ilang beses siyang nag- thank you sa services ng international nurses," kuwento ni Rashima Hamdan mula sa Royal Cornwall Hospital.

"He shook my hand and he walked past and I said, hello Your Majesty, I’m from the Philippines. He came back and shook my hand and said – oh, yes, that’s 48 thousand of you here," sabi ni Susie Lagrata, Advanced Nurse Practitioner.

Happy Birthday, His Majesty the King

Bago matapos ang Buckingham Palace Reception, isang birthday song ang inihandog ng NHS Choir sa Hari, na sinabayan ng mga bisita.

“I said to him, I work in the Cambridge University Hospital Foundation Trust as one of the cultural ambassadors, and he said to me, what am I going to do without you,’" kuwento ni Ruby Lopez ng Addenbrokes Cambridge University Hospitals.

“He actually shook my hand and it means the world to me. Happy birthday, Your Majesty, and thank you for what you have been doing for all of us,” sabi ni Ariel Lanada, President of the Filipino Nurses Association of UK.

“It’s such an incredible moment to be here. It is a proud moment to be representing my heritage: being a British citizen and at the same time, representing the Filipino community,” sabi ni Kristine Kanal, Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System.

“I think it’s very humbling. We truly appreciate this opportunity and we would like to greet the King a happy birthday,” pahayag ni Maria Veronica Nuevas, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, National Health Service Foundation Trust.

Mga Pilipino sa NHS

Sa taong 2022-2023 nagtala ang Nursing ang Midwifery Council ng pinakamalaking bilang ng new joiners o bagong nurses at midwives sa bansa na may bilang na 52,000.

Halos kalahating porsiento ng bilang na ito ay foreign-educated, kasama na ang mga nagmula sa Pilipinas. Ito ang panahon ng pandemya na pinalakas ang international recruitment ng NHS.

Sa tala pa rin ng NMC, may higit 48 libong Filipino nurses at midwives sa UK, kabilang ang may tinatayang 50 na inimbita sa Bucking Palace Reception noong Martes.

Pinadapa ng pandemya ang UK, pero ibinangon ng NHS kaya hindi ito nakakalimutan ng Hari. Hindi rin makakalinutan ng mga Pinoy ang naging karanasan nila sa palasyo at pakikihalubilo sa Hari.

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