6 April 2021
The NHS has been good to me
Tina has dedicated her life to working for the NHS. Now she’s decided to leave a gift in her Will to Southampton Hospitals Charity.
This is her story…
I’ve worked for University Hospital Southampton since 1974. I hadn’t known what to do when I left school and saw an advert saying we need you from the NHS.
I was born in Southampton and started my career here. After a couple of years in Maidstone during my nursing training, I came back to Southampton to study Midwifery, around the time that Princess Anne Hospital was opening.
I lived in the Old Nurses Home back then, when the old hospital with the long corridor was still up and running.
Some of my fondest memories are of working on the Labour Ward. It was the comradery we had. When it was a busy night you knew we had to pull together to make it work for the patients, and to look after our colleagues as well.
I became the Acting Matron for Postnatal Services, but then I got arthritis. I could see the writing on the wall in terms of retirement, and I thought I’d better do a degree so that I’ve got another string to my bow.
I did that alongside my job, and it worked out well. When my arthritis became bad, I was able to go into governance for Princess Anne Hospital. Eventually, I became HR Adviser, and that’s what I currently am.
I’ve been very lucky. I’ve been employed by the hospital, and I’ve been a patient at the hospital.
That’s what has prompted me to think about giving something back to the NHS: because it’s been good to me.
Southampton Hospitals Charity really is an important charity to consider leaving a gift to in your Will because the hospital serves a very vast population and it serves them very well.
We, in Southampton, are very lucky to have a hospital that has all the facilities that we may need in our hour of need so that we don’t have to travel anywhere.
Writing a Will is easy to do and even a small amount of money can make a huge difference in terms of what the hospital can provide.
It’s items that will benefit both staff and patients: for the patient because it helps their speed of progress through the treatment and for staff because it helps them to provide that treatment.
I wanted to make sure that some of my money – how big or small it may be – goes to the Department that I’ve benefitted from.
Because you are able to specify where you want the money to go to, you can be assured that the money will be spent wisely, in the way that you’d wish for it to be spent.
All of us at some point in our lives will have contact with the NHS. It’s important that the money that we have is shared, and that we try to make things better for the next person coming along.
Every gift, no matter how large or small, will make a difference.
