Heartbeat: A trip down memory lane for Maureen and Monica

November 22, 2019

It was a trip down memory lane for two former nurses who returned to City Hospital 60 years after they completed their training.

Maureen Jones and Monica Beirne, aged 81, visited the site to mark their anniversary and were greeted by Research Nurse, Jenny Porter, who has a keen interest in the history of the site.

She took them on a tour which ended with a small tea party in the chapel, where they all shared their favourite memories.

Monica said: “It all seems different now. The corridors were so plain before and there was the smell of Lysol everywhere.

“And of course the nurses’ home is now derelict, but it’s where we spent our three years. My husband Tom would visit and he’d always miss the last bus home so had to walk the nine miles back to Dudley.

“He had to make sure he left before curfew though at 10pm as the matron would come round with her little dog trying to sniff out anyone who wasn’t supposed to be there.

“She also used to let the dog onto the wards – there certainly wasn’t any infection control procedures back then!”

Both Maureen and Monica carried out their training between 1956 and 1959 before they both left to work at other NHS trusts.

Jenny added: “It was wonderful to meet Maureen and Monica for the first time and hear about their time here. It may have been brief but it certainly made a lasting impression on them. They were keen to return and take a look around some of their ‘old haunts’ and it was a pleasure to be able to do this.”