A Westmeath woman is hanging up her nurse’s uniform after 42 years in the NHS.
Margaretta Rooney, 61, retired from her full-time role in the rheumatology department at Whipps Cross Hospital at the end of July.
A pioneer in research, Margaretta was among the first clinical practitioners in the country.
She was also one of the first nurses to support patient clinical trials – work which has contributed to establishing Whipps Cross as one of the leading rheumatology departments in Britain.
Margaretta began training at the hospital in 1973 at the age of 18.
“I thought of coming to England as an adventure,” the Irish nurse said. “I had two sisters who were nurses in Ireland and I wanted to be different. But I arrived at the hospital and there were already so many Irish nurses!
Compared to my home in the country, east London was a very different world. I loved nursing right from the beginning.”
After qualifying in 1976, the Irish woman worked as a staff nurse in the orthopaedics department.
She became a senior ward sister in 1982 before joining the rheumatology department 10 years later.
“I immediately loved rheumatology for the long-term help and support that we give to patients; we really get to know them and their families well over the years,” she said.
“It is important as a nurse to put your patients at the centre of all you do and you become their professional friend.”
Among her proudest achievements is the establishment of an east London Asian branch of a rheumatology patients support group.
This has allowed people who did not speak English as their first language have access to specialist care and new treatments.
A keen supporter of holistic care, Margaretta also created an ‘arthritis garden’ in the grounds of Whipps Cross Hospital in 1998.
“I am proud of what I do,” she said. “I’m a very successful nurse with a great career and have enjoyed lots of opportunities at the hospital including in more recent years completing a degree. It’s been good.
“I have also loved getting to know my patients. They congratulated me when I got married and had my daughter, and continue to ask me all these years later about how she is doing.
"In this role you have the privilege of meeting many people, and you learn much about life and death.
"To retire will be a big shock. I might be 61 years of age on paper but I intend to thoroughly enjoy myself.”
To wish her farewell, the team at Whipps Cross threw Margaretta a special retirement lunch at the hospital.
After spending her first week at home with her feet up and a cup of tea, she now plans to enjoy quality family time over the summer with her husband and daughter, who starts university in the autumn.
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