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08
Jul 2023
Nurse retires after 50 years of service to Harrogate hospital
A nurse in Harrogate has retired after more than five decades of service to the NHS.
Lynne Henwood spent 50 years working for Harrogate hospital, 37 of them in the operating theatre.
She then transferred to the outpatients department where she worked until she finally retired after 54 years in the NHS, which this week marked its 75th anniversary.
She told the Stray Ferret things had changed considerably during her career:
Mrs Henwood trained as a nurse in her home city of Liverpool at the age of 18, in January 1969. She said the training in those days was on the wards, with the 42-hour weeks over six days preparing her and the other student nurses for the hard work their first jobs would entail.
Training on the wards in Liverpool
However, she didn't get off to the smoothest start.
After working in Liverpool for three years, Mrs Henwood took a job in Wakefield for just a few months before relocating to Harrogate in 1973, where she remained for the rest of her career.
She was quickly promoted to sister the following year and was based at Harrogate General Hospital until it closed.
Mrs Henwood transferred to the district hospital and worked at several satellite units around the district over the years.
Right, in scrubs, meeting the Queen when she visited Harrogate District Hospital
After almost four decades in the operating theatre, she moved downstairs to the outpatients department, working in clinical investigations as a staff nurse.
She reduced her hours 13 years ago with a plan to retire in summer 2020 – but everything changed with the arrival of the pandemic in March that year.
In PPE during the covid pandemic
Three years on, Mrs Henwood decided it was finally time to retire. She said:
Also awaiting her in retirement is more time with her husband and two daughters, as well as the opportunity to go walking, enjoy her garden at home in Boroughbridge, and read more books.
Read more:
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- Chief medical officer Chris Whitty learns about ageing in Darley and Harrogate
Her final week of work, however, was reminiscent of her first day as a trainee. A fall on a day off left her with a broken elbow and bruising on her face, meaning she missed her last shifts.
But her colleagues in outpatients ensured she had a good send-off, with a lunch in the department followed by drinks in Harrogate on the Friday evening, and a fitting collection of gifts and flowers.
Reflecting on her career, Mrs Henwood said:
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