A grandmother who began her nursing career when patients could smoke in the day room and enjoy a sherry with their evening medication has celebrated 50 years in the job.
Sue Baker started her training in August 1975 – four years before the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford even opened – and says she would “never have believed” she would still be working half a century later.
The 68-year-old initially followed in her aunt’s footsteps by learning the ropes at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, where matrons “ruled the roost” and nurses worked under strict supervision.
“You would hear matron’s shoes coming along the corridor and then immediately find something to do so that you weren’t in her eye line,” she recalled.
“Everything had to be just so, and you had to know everything about every single patient on the ward – their names, procedures and how many days post-op they were.
“I had to ask permission to get married, and they did disapprove because my husband was a mortician.
“I was told nurses should associate with nurses or doctors.”
Despite the strictness, Sue says life on the wards was very different from today – from patients lighting up cigarettes indoors to alcohol being served alongside medication.
“Sometimes you would open the door to the day room and you wouldn’t be able to see which patients were in there as there was so much smoke,” she said.
“At 6pm when we took the drug trolley round, we also had sherry for the ladies and beer for the men and it was quite popular.
“There were no rubber gloves, we just had to wash our hands.
“There were also no computers of course, so we had a giant logbook with the appointments in. It was all quite different.”
But from the very beginning, Sue knew she’d found her calling.
“I knew from the minute I could talk I wanted to be a nurse,” she said.
“It definitely wasn’t influenced by my mum, as she couldn’t bear anything to do with people being poorly.
“But I liked looking after people and being able to help them feel better.”
In 1986, she moved to the newly built William Harvey Hospital, first working in the outpatients’ department supporting cancer patients.
She later joined the endoscopy unit before settling into her current role as an assistant in the fracture clinic.
Ms Baker, who lives in Willesborough and has seven grandchildren, with another on the way, says some patients have remained in her thoughts long after their treatment ended.
“Some of the patients do stay with you, particularly the younger ones who were quite poorly,” she said.
“It was always lovely to see patients who have been with us for a long time when they finish treatment and are on the road to recovery, and it was nice to know we had played a part in their journey.”
Now working three mornings a week, Sue insists retirement is not on her radar just yet.
“I’m going to carry on as long as they will have me,” she said.
“I don’t feel that old until I see doctors who I remember as very junior coming back as consultants.
“If someone had told me 50 years ago I would still be working in a hospital, I would have told them they had lost the plot.”
