Nostalgic nurses: Hospital staff meet at reunion thirty years on
Thirty years to the day since they first started their training together, a group of nurses recently met up to visit the hospital where they trained and take a trip down memory lane – or Wrythe Lane at least.
Out of the original group of 22 nurses who trained together at St Helier in 1985, eleven met back at the hospital, to see how much had changed over the years since they were last there.
The group, who are all still nurses, travelled from far and wide to get to the hospital, with a twelfth colleague even managing to video call in all the way from Australia where she now lives.
One member of the group, Lucy Russell, still works at St Helier as a staff nurse in the Renal Department. She said it had been remarkable to meet with so many old friends: “It was great fun seeing everyone again – we all had so much to catch up on!
“For a lot of the girls, it was really fascinating for them to see how much has changed since they were last here. We had fantastic training here, and we all agreed that it’s obviously still a great place to work – that’s why after a seven-year stint working in central London, I came back to St Helier and still enjoy working here!”
Sue Arnold, one of the nurses who organised the meet, explained how much the group had enjoyed reminiscing with one another during their visit:
“It was a day filled with nostalgia, we even met a nurse on theatres who still works there 30 years on and with whom some of us had worked with before. We were delighted to see C4 has been dedicated to Sister Davies, a ward sister who was renowned for being incredibly strict, but who everybody had a huge amount of respect for.”
Sue said that the visit, which the group all thoroughly enjoyed, reminded her of just how much St Helier Hospital meant to her: “I was born at the hospital, as was my husband. My two children were emergency deliveries there, both having very complicated births, and my daughter was in the SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit) for a number of weeks.
“Not only that, but my mother-in-law also trained at St Helier and was a senior nurse for many years resulting in me meeting my husband through her. St Helier holds many fine memories for us!”
The group of friends are planning a similar reunion next year and plan to try and get as many of their former colleagues as possible to join them.
