Kenyan Nurse in UK Celebrated for Saving Patient's Life Amid NHS Crisis, Sparks Diaspora Pride on X

Country: United Kingdom
Date Published: November 27, 2025

London, UK – A Kenyan nurse working in the UK's overburdened National Health Service (NHS) has become an overnight sensation on X (formerly Twitter) after a viral video showed her heroically saving a patient's life during a chaotic shift. Florence Muthoni, a 32-year-old nurse from Nairobi now based in Manchester, was caught on hospital CCTV performing emergency CPR on a 68-year-old heart attack victim, stabilizing him until paramedics arrived. The footage, shared initially by a colleague's X post on November 27, has garnered over 250,000 views, likes, and retweets within hours, igniting widespread praise from the Kenyan diaspora and beyond.

The story exploded on X when verified Kenyan news account @K24Tv posted the clip at 8:45 PM GMT, captioning it: "Heroine Alert! Kenyan nurse Florence Muthoni saves life in UK hospital amid NHS staffing shortages. #KenyansAbroad #ProudlyKenyan." Replies flooded in from users like @DiasporaKenyanUK (45K followers), who wrote, "This is why we left Kenya – to make a difference! NHS would collapse without us Kenyans. Florence, you're our queen! 🇰🇪❤️," amplifying the thread to trending status under #KenyanNurseHero. Regular users shared personal stories of Kenyan healthcare workers in the UK, highlighting their contributions amid ongoing strikes and understaffing debates.

Muthoni, who moved to the UK three years ago via the Health and Care Worker visa, told X users in a follow-up Spaces audio chat hosted by influencer @WanjikuRevolt (102K followers) that her quick actions stemmed from training back home at Kenyatta National Hospital. "We Kenyans are resilient; we've seen worse in our hospitals," she said, drawing parallels to Kenya's own healthcare challenges. The discussion thread, which peaked at 15,000 engagements, also touched on the broader Kenyan diaspora in the NHS – estimated at over 20,000 workers – fueling calls for better recognition and pay.

While the story has been overwhelmingly positive, it sparked some controversy as UK-based users like @NHSWorkerVoice questioned the NHS's reliance on migrant labor, with one post reading: "Great save, but when will we train our own instead of poaching from Kenya?" Kenyan X users pushed back fiercely, with @KenyanAbroadHub replying, "We're not poached; we choose to come and excel. Thank Florence for saving YOUR system!" As of December 2, the video continues to circulate, symbolizing both pride in Kenyan excellence abroad and ongoing global debates on migration and healthcare. Hospital officials confirmed the patient's full recovery, crediting Muthoni's "exemplary bravery."