A play which will be premiered at this year’s Fringe has input from 50 nurses who have shared their experiences working in the NHS.
All contributors are anonymous but their stories have resulted in a play which reveals funny, poignant and shocking stories from caring for patients in hospitals.
Writer, El Blackwood said; “Interviewing these nurses has been both a joy and an education. Starting out, I worried that it would be difficult to find enough nurses to speak to, yet each one recommended another, eager to tell their stories.”
With more than 800,000 nurses employed by the NHS today, they are responsible for much of the day-to-day care given to patients in hospitals, but more nurses are leaving the profession than ever before.
In 2022 there were 600 fewer students studying nursing than The Scottish Government’s intake target. According to a recent survey by the Royal College of Nurses (RCN) two thirds of Scottish student nurses were considering a career change due to financial pressure.
Drawing on over 50 interviews with nurses of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, this is the story of those workers who so often get overlooked. And the hope is that after Edinburgh the play will progress using more insights and perspectives to generate a public discussion about nurses.
Tending is at 11.30am from 14 to 26 August (not 20th) Thistle Theatre Greenside @Riddles Court Lawnmarket EH1 2PG.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/tending
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
