Florence Nightingale & Cicely Saunders

Our Faculty is constantly innovating new ways to care for patients and their families. We’re carrying on a tradition started by our founders, and built on by generations of dedicated nurses, midwives, and other healthcare professionals.

1854

Florence Nightingale and 38 other nurses leave for the Scutari Crimean War hospital. The Lady with the Lamp has become an iconic image in British culture. In 1975 she became the first woman, other than female monarchs, to appear on our currency. Her portrait was on the £10 note for nearly 20 years.

What’s less well known is her contribution to how evidence is used to inform healthcare. After returning from the war, she pioneered new ways to represent statistics graphically – popularising the pie chart and, who knows, maybe even inventing the infographic.

1860

The first nurses start training at Nightingale’s school at St Thomas’ Hospital Florence Nightingale became so popular in her time that she was able to create a public fund to establish her school. By 1856 she had raised £44,039 – equivalent to over £2m today.

1910

Florence Nightingale died peacefully in her sleep age 90 at her home in Mayfair.

1919

Olive Haydon publishes an account of the history of midwifery, predicting a future training college dedicated to formal education of midwives

1940-1967

A young student named Cicely Saunders enrolled at the Nightingale School of Nursing Even early in her career, Cicely Saunders was a leading figure in caring for patients with terminal illness. From 1948 she worked clinically, lectured, and wrote books and articles. In her time, healthcare professionals often gave up hope for terminal patients. But she refused to accept the status quo. She worked on new methods of pain control, as well as bereavement services for families.

1967 Cicely Saunders founded St Christopher’s Hospice St Christopher’s was the first research and teaching hospice linked with clinical care. It kick-started the hospice movement, and created the field of palliative medicine.

1980

Cicely Saunders becomes a Dame of the British Empire During her lifetime she was also awarded the Order of Merit, twenty honorary degrees, and a whole host of other prizes around the world.

1991-1993

The school becomes the Nightingale College of Health after merging with the Olive Haydon School of Midwifery and the Thomas Guy & Lewisham School of Nursing

1993 The Nightingale College of Health becomes part of King’s College London

2002-2005

Cicely Saunders creates her charity, Cicely Saunders International One of her key aims was to create a centre of excellence for research and education in palliative care – the Cicely Saunders Institute. The charity helps improve treatment and make care more available to anyone who needs it.

2005 Cicely died peacefully in the renowned hospice she created.

2014-2017

The school becomes a Faculty.

2017 The Cicely Saunders Institute merges with the Faculty to create the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care.

With a community of thousands of staff and students, the Faculty is having a greater impact than ever. New generations of healthcare professionals are going out into the world to make a real difference in people’s lives – with over 150 years of King’s history and expertise behind them.