Nurses look back and forward as NHS celebrates its 60th birthday

Jun 22 2008 By Heather Greenaway

DON'T try telling Mary Dunn the NHS is in a mess - she reckons it's in better shape than ever.

And she should know. Mary was one of the first nurses recruited to the fledgling service in 1948.

She is impressed by the technology and life-saving drugs in the armoury of her modern counterparts.

But she reckons if there is one thing that hasn't been improved on, it's the old uniform - of starched aprons and frilly caps.

Mary, 77, said: "The old uniforms were great. They were washed every day and starched, which cut down on the germs and we were never allowed to wear them outside the hospital.

"Nowadays there really is no way of identifying who is who on the wards."

The gran, of Glenrothes, was inspired to sign up as a nurse after being treated for diptheria as a teenager.

Mary, who retired from nursing in 1994, believes Scotland would not be the country it is today without the NHS.

She said: "I cannot begin to describe just how valuable the NHS is to Scotland. Weshould all be very proud of it. If it were not for the free health service in this country tens of thousands of people would have died unnecessarily because they could not afford to visit a doctor or pay for treatment.

"So many lives have been saved over the past 60 years thanks to this wonderful institution and here's to the next 60."

Mary started her nursing career at Bridge of Earn training school in Perthshire when she was 16 and was in the first NHS class to graduate in 1951.

She said: "When I was 15, I contracted diptheria and ended up in Glasgow's Belvedere Hospital. There was a fireplace in the ward and the nurses used to sit on my bed and have a natter.

"I loved listening to all their banter about the wards and the patients and decided then and there I was going to be a nurse.

"When I got better I applied to the Bridge of Earn and was accepted to train as a probationary nurse complete with frilly cap.

I left there three years later as a fully-qualified nurse."

Mary spent her early years working at Kirkcaldy's Old General Hospital and recalls how different her job was in the 1940s.

She said: "Back then nursing involved everything. We cleaned the wards and polished all the floors. We tested patients, changed bandages and we had bunsen burners, over which we melted the morphine tablets in preparation for syringing."

When Mary started out there were no married nurses and they all lived together in a special home near the hospital.

She said: "If you did get married you had to leave. I started off earning just s5 a month."

Cleanliness in those days was next to godliness and each ward had its own maid, who was in charge of keeping everything ship shape.

Mary said: "The ward maid made sure everything was disinfected and cleansed within an inch of its life." In 1955Mary gave up nursing to get married and start a family and in 1959 she moved to Zambia with her ex-husband Bill, who went to work in the copper mines.

But Mary, who has a son Gary, 48, could not stay out of the wards for long. She took a job in Kitwe and became assistant matron.

She returned to Scotland with her family in 1970 and became a staff nurse at Randolph Wemyss Memorial Hospital in Buckhaven, Fife. Before retiring in 1993, Mary was appointed manager of St Andrews Memorial Hospital.

Over her 47 years of service the dedicated nurse has seen lots of changes in the NHS - some for the worse but most for the better.

She said: "Doing away with the matron is a mistake. Matrons ran the wards with great efficiency and commanded respect."

But she added: "The medical advancements have been marvellous. Hospitals are much better kitted out and the level of care is commendable."

Despite retiring in 1993, Mary continued to work part time as an agency nurse and is a member of her retired nurses' group.

She said: "Once an nurse, always a nurse. The NHS gave me a long and happy career and I will be toasting its past and future successes at Rothes Halls in Glenrothes on July 5."

To find out more about the 60th anniversary of the NHS log on to www.60yearsofnhsscotland.co.uk SUNDAY EMAIL h.greenaway@sundaymail.co.uk

'The human bond with patients makes it a special vocation'

WHEN Carol Fraser becomes a nurse she knows she will not just be starting a new job - it will be a whole new way of life.

That's because she reckons nurses' special bond with their patients goes well beyond the normal 9-5.

The mum-of-two will qualify shortly after the NHS celebrates its landmark birthday.

Carol, 33, of Newton Mearns, near Glasgow, is delighted to be graduating in such a landmark year for the NHS.

She said: "I can't wait to be registered and my learning will continue thanks to the training provided by the NHS.

"The service may be 60 years old but the spirit among nurses is just as strong as it was in 1948. With the job, it has to be."

Carol has completed a wide range of placements rom surgery to looking after the elderly at the Royal Alexandria Hospital in Paisley.

She also spent time in community care working with elderly people at Barrhead Community Care Centre.

Carol, mum to Ben, nine, and Ross, seven, said: "The beauty of being a student nurse is admitting a patient, holding their hand, reassuring them and their family in the build-up to a procedure, seeing the relief on their faces after a successful operation and discharging them. Also, my time spent in theatre at Royal Alexandria Hospital was great.

"It's a unique opportunity to hold someone's hand when they're scared and want to share details of their life, to listen and calmly reassure them. This real human connection makes nursing a special vocation.

"We are lucky the NHS is still up and running. It ensures everyone is provided with free medical treatment.

"Staff shortages mean nurses are pushed to their limits and budget cuts do make me worry about job security but the skills nurses now have are amazing.

"In days gone by nurses were limited but now they have more medical knowledge and are equipped to do a lot of medical procedures."

The NHS has been criticised over superbugs such as MRSA but Carol insists hygiene is the strictest it has ever been.

She said: "The hygiene part of our course is extremely intense and nurses qualifying now are experts in hand-washing and preventing the spread of disease."

Carol, who will complete a three-year diploma in adult nursing at the University of the West of Scotland in September, is impressed by how services work together.

She said: "You can gather experts from several different teams to help out a patient.

"I'm proud I am going to be a part of it."