History of nursing in the United Kingdom matrons, whose work was largely administrative, even more so. Nursing in the Poor Law infirmaries, such as it was, was largely carried out by able-bodied paupers, who were not paid. In 1866 there were a total of 53 nurses employed in the 11 metropolitan workhouses, at an average salary of £20 18s. Florence Nightingale is regarded as the founder of modern nursing profession. There was no hospital training school for nurses until one was established in Kaiserwerth, Germany, in 1846. There, Nightingale received the training that enabled her in 1860 to establish, at St Thomas' Hospital in London, the first
Nursing in the United Kingdom a Royal College and a trade union. This dual role was the subject of debate in 2013, and there was a vote on dividing the RCN to form two organisations. 99.4% of voters did not want to divide. Other trade unions that represent healthcare workers are Unite the Union, UNISON and GMB. Royal College of Nursing is a membership organisation and trade union. The Queen's Nursing Institute (QNI) is a registered charity, which until the 1960s trained district nurses. Guild of Nursing – A newly formed body that aims to represent Nurses. The Florence Nightingale Foundation supports nurses and midwives