A photograph taken of a patient and nursing staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital has won the People’s Choice Award in the RCN’s national Care on Camera competition.

The photo entitled ‘Musical Entertainment from a Hospital Bed’ features a patient playing the violin to entertain nursing staff on Ward B31. It won the People’s Choice Award after receiving the most public votes from a shortlist of 50 images. The shortlist was selected from more than 800 entries from across the UK to create a photographic record of nursing as part of the RCN’s centenary celebrations.

The photograph was taken by NHS Forth Valley’s Communications Manager Kate Fawcett who had been tipped off by nursing staff about musically gifted patient Alan Cairney from Gartmore, near Stirling.

Alan, who is in his early nineties, is a classically trained musician, who took up his bow when he was just ten years old. The national competition was open to both amateur and professional photographers and was run in association with the Royal Photographic Society.

The judging panel included RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Janet Davies, BBC journalist Huw Edwards, RPS Director-General Dr Michael Pritchard and NHS Employers’ Danny Mortimer along with RCN members Vianne Britten and Jess Moorhouse.

The competition shortlist, including the winning photographs, will be part of a touring exhibition visiting schools, libraries, and various health settings around the UK as part of the RCN’s centenary celebrations. You can see all the winning entries on the RCN website https://www.rcn100photo.org.uk/events/royal-college-nursing-100/winners/

Pictured (left to right) are NHS Forth Valley nursing auxiliaries Allison Cowie, Ellen Swan and Maureen Gibson with violinist Alan Cairney