Booklet of memories celebrates 70 years of the NHS
05/10/2018
This article is more than five years old.
Members of the Oxford branch of the NHS Retirement Fellowship share their memories of working in the NHS in an entertaining new booklet which captures stories of the health service from its earliest days.
The booklet has been published to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the NHS and the 40th anniversary of the NHS Retirement Fellowship.
Several members of the Fellowship recall escapades from their nursing days when nurses lived in nurses' homes guarded by vigilant sisters and gaining entry after a night out involved climbing over walls or sneaking in through ground floor bedroom windows.
Others look back to pioneering days such as working on a cardiac ambulance in Belfast when defibrillators were new, in laboratories when techniques were slow and primitive by today's standards, and in operating theatres when surgery that is commonplace now was in its infancy.
One member recalls that before the NHS, when her bus conductor father earned just two pounds and ten shillings a week, the family faced a bill of £13 to pay for her birth in hospital. Another remembers a patient in A&E arriving in a fur coat, high heels and nothing else!
What shines through from all the contributions, as editor Andrew Moss says in his introduction, is members' pride in the service they delivered, and how much they enjoyed it.
He says: "I believe it is very important to capture these memories before they all fade away. They are our history."
Membership of the NHS Retirement Fellowship is open to anyone who has worked in the NHS. The Oxford branch has approximately 150 members who enjoy a busy programme of events, outings, meetings, walks and lunches.
If you would like more information about joining the membership of the Fellowship, please contact:
Branch Secretary
Clare Flanagan: 01865 761677 / Clare949Flanagan@btinternet.com
Membership Secretary
Cheryl Booth: 01993 837808 / caboothcab1@sky.com
If you would like a copy of the NHS Memories booklet, please contact Andrew Moss: semossmoss@btinternet.com
Pictured: Celia Day with colleague in the operating theatre at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre