FORMER NURSE TAKES A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE ON VISIT TO JIMMY’S

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A former nurse and midwife who trained at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds more than 60 years ago made a welcome return to her former workplace.When offered the opportunity to make a ‘wish come true’ by staff at the Haworth Court Residential Home in Hull, 93 year-old Enid Winkley jumped at the chance to return to the hospital – affectionately known as “Jimmy’s” – for a very special tour of the site.
Accompanied by Senior Care Assistant, James Jones, and Activity Co-ordinator, Sophie Hodgins, Enid was shown around the former nurses’ home – now the Trust Headquarters building – where she lived while training. The visit was facilitated by Leeds NHS staff, who guided her around many of the older parts of the site including what is now the Thackray Medical Museum.
Enid shared her memories about training as a nurse and later midwife, and described her years at Jimmy’s as a “very happy time”. She shared anecdotes about life in the nurses’ home and on the wards and spoke with fondness about how she met Princess Margaret when she visited the hospital in 1954, as well as the big difference the establishment of the NHS in 1948 made.
Chief Nurse, Suzanne Hinchliffe said “It was truly wonderful to welcome Enid back to the hospital and recognise her contribution to care here in Leeds. She certainly had a full and varied career and lot of memories of her time at St James’s!
“I was fascinated to find out about her experiences of nursing during the 1940s and 50s. It also was interesting to learn about how care has changed over the past 60 years thanks to the advances in both medicine and surgery.”
Sophie said “We like to help our residents make the most of their time while staying with us at Haworth Court and recently introduced a ‘wishing tree’. The idea is that residents write down their hopes and dreams and, if it’s within our power, we try and make them come true.
“It was Enid’s wish to return to Jimmy’s after all these years to see how her old workplace has changed and to relive her memories. During the course of the visit she had a really wonderful time and it was great to see her take a trip down memory lane!”

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