International Nurses Day (IND) will be championing the message of ‘Empowered Nurses Save Lives’ this week — a vital theme when aiming to leverage the vast expertise of staff for accelerated transformation, says InnoScot Health

IND (Tuesday 12 May) is celebrated annually on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth and organised by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) which represents over 30 million nurses worldwide.

The theme for this year’s IND is ‘Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives,’ with ICN insisting that “we must empower nurses with safe, fair work environments and full nursing practice, influence, and leadership” allowing them to “make the greatest impact on people’s health”.

One of Scotland’s leading healthcare innovation agencies, InnoScot Health backs ICN President Dr José Luis Cobos Serrano’s assertion that “true empowerment means eliminating the barriers that prevent nurses from using their full knowledge and skills and creating pathways for nurses’ voices to shape the future of care”.

InnoScot Health believes that supporting nurses to collaboratively innovate must be a significant part of that effort, giving them pride and a sense of ownership and achievement in being enabled to accelerate improved patient outcomes in tandem with more efficient, joined up working practices.

Innovation Commercialisation Manager Frances Ramsay continues to benefit InnoScot Health with her own nursing experience since joining the organisation three years ago. She started her nurse training in 1988 before putting her skills to use with both NHS Scotland and England.

She said: “I owe a lot to my nursing experiences — to this day, they still shape my whole approach to interacting with healthcare innovators.

“I know just how valuable and committed our nurses are to providing the best possible care, as well as their desire to spearhead positive change and make a real difference. Their sense of empowerment is therefore incredibly important.

“Nurses are key facilitators of much-needed innovation at this vital time of transformation and #IND2026 celebrates that massive contribution. Their insights are crucial to how we move forward.

“InnoScot Health believes that IND’s message of providing ‘meaningful opportunities for leadership, education, and influence’ goes hand in hand with supporting their desire to innovate and share their ideas for improvement, whether simple or complex.

“If they do spot any opportunities for change, whether the ideas are big or small, then we’d be delighted to hear from them.

“With IND insisting that global nursing challenges ‘transcend borders’, we believe that anyone can be a healthcare innovator by improving patient care, enhancing working practices, and generating a financial return.

“InnoScot Health has the knowledge and expertise to help them take their ideas to the next level while providing key collaborative connections to industry and academia.”

The organisation is encouraging healthcare staff to submit their ideas.