Categories
Uncategorized

Sue Ridout 50 Years and Counting!

We are honoured to share a potted history of 50 years in the NHS for one of our dedicated nursing staff, Sue Ridout. 

Sue is our Nursing Team Manager and has worked at the practice since 2001 and very recently celebrated 50 years in our wonderful NHS.

We dedicate the following to Sue in recognition of her dedication and commitment to the NHS, providing a lifetime of care. 

Here is Sue’s story….

Sue always knew she wanted to be a nurse from around the age of 5.

She grew up loving sciences and worked in a chemical laboratory for 9 months before leaving home to start her nurse training – Sue’s role was to find out why fish were dying in a river and from her experiments, she found it was due to too much copper in the water!

Sue started out as student nurse on 5 January 1975 at The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.  Sue describes these as ‘the old days’ – proper nursing school; caps and capes, belts and badges and of course the obligatory ferocious Matron! In those days it was 6 weeks in school then consolidating the learning on a ward, then back into school for another 6 weeks, then back on a ward etc.  It took 3 years to be an SRN (State Registered Nurse) and Sue says she loved every single minute. Again, ‘in those days’, jobs were guaranteed – Sue swapped her cap for a frilly one, earnt a silver buckle for the belt, got badges to be proud of and now answered the phone as “Staff Nurse”. Her first job was on a ward called Lowman – a surgical ward.

After 18 months, Sue left Exeter to become a holiday camp nurse.  She moved a little further south to Paignton and along with another young woman, became a Pontins holiday camp nurse.  This was a really busy year where they held daily clinics, donned red coats to sit at swimming galas, sports days, glamourous granny and of course, knobbly knee competitions!  Alongside this was the delivery of real nursing care –  attending numerous traumas, on-call 24/7 and saving many lives with CPR.  Sue describes this as ‘a fabulous year!’

Sue’s next role was back in London as a student in Westminster, undertaking her children’s nurse training. The uniform this time consisted of starched caps, collars and aprons, buckles and belts. Nurses had to kneel in front of Matron to ensure their dresses were the right length and their caps had the right amount of pleats.  Necks were rubbed raw with the collars but everyone looked absolutely fabulous!

As a southerner having undertaken other jobs around London, working in the Birmingham Accident Hospital was the pinnacle of anyone’s career and Sue was lucky to secure a position on the MIU, The Multiple Injuries Unit and up she came to Birmingham in the 1980’s. From here Sue worked at the old St Chads Hospital, then on ITU at the ‘old’ Queen Elizabeth Hospital.  By now nursing had very much changed; training was at a university, uniforms plain, no caps and capes, no belts, buckles or badges and no Matrons!

Sue then went into community nursing,  starting at Hall Green as a student District Nurse for a year before undertaking her District Nurse training.  When she qualified, Sue found herself in a base in Wentworth Road Harborne that housed the Harborne and Edgbaston District Nurse Teams.  Sue was part of the Harborne Team that covered Dr MCrann’s practice, which was situated in Albert Road. This was the start of Sue’s journey to her current role,  having been attached to the same practice ever since (albeit with a different practice name).

Sue then became the District Nurse Team Leader.  The new Harborne Medical Practice was built in York Street and the whole District Nursing Team moved in to the practice. Sue moved from being the District Nurse Team Leader to work for Harborne Medical Practice in 2001, where she took a post as a Community Nurse Practitioner.  Sue continued to increase her knowledge, qualifying to post graduate level to become the Advanced Nurse Practitioner she is today.

Sue tells us she has seen many changes; there have been many challenges, many GP’s and many governments, and points out we have been full circle a few times with policies!

Sue feels privileged to have been given so much knowledge from colleagues along the way. 50 years of learning, caring, teaching, friendships and so much more. Sue tells us she is truly blessed to still love being a nurse and we are delighted Sue choses to continue her career with us here at Harborne Medical.

We are thankful for Sue’s dedication all that she brings to our practice and know there are many patients, staff and colleagues who feel likewise.   We salute Sue for her lifetime of service to the NHS  and send our congratulations on this wonderful achievement.

From Sue’s colleagues and friends at Harborne Medical Practice.