Transcript Detail
| Transcript Title | Prior, Angela (O2013.6) |
| Interviewee | Angela Prior |
| Interviewer | Janet Holmes |
| Date | 03/05/2013 |
| Transcriber by | Museum Volunteer |
Transcript
Hertford Oral History Group
Recording no: O 2013.6
Interviewee: Angela Prior
Venue: 19 Edmonds Road Hertford
Date: 3 May 2013
Interviewer: Janet Holmes
Transcribed by: Museum Volunteer
************** = unclear recording
[discussion] = untranscribed material
Janet Holmes/Angela Prior: This is a recording of Angela Prior of 19 Edmunds Road, Hertford for the Oral History Group, taking place on 3 May 2013. The recording is being done by Janet Holmes
JH: Thank you, Angela, for agreeing to talk to us about your time at the hospital in Hertford. Can we start off by you saying a little bit about growing up locally, because I understand you are a local girl
AP: Yes. I was born in Widford but after the first year, I moved to Wareside with my parents. My mother was a cook and my father was a gardener and a baker. I had a sister, born 5 years later and we continued living there. Unfortunately got Bovine TB and spent quite a lot of time in hospital and the ward that I was on was Sebright at Hertford County Hospital. The Sister on the ward - I became quite friendly with - although I was only 6 or 7. But I decided then the only thing I ever wanted to do was to be a nurse. I told the Sister that one day I was going to take her place in Sebright ward as the Sister of the ward
JH: So how did she reply to that?
AP: She said, “Well dear, I hope I might be retired and you won’t come over and take my job before that”. After that, I spent my school days in Wareside village school and became one of the people that had to stay on another year – after I should have left at 14. Then I went on to Ware Secondary Modern School until 15. Continuing my thoughts of being a nurse, I had rather a job because I was not old enough and I hadn’t got qualifications – we didn’t have that chance. So the lady who was looking after me to see what job was going to be suitable – knowing that I wanted to be a nurse – helped me get a job as a Nanny and I did some domestic work
JH: Locally?
AP: All the time waiting to become a nurse. Then Miss Parry-Morgan (her name was) found out there was a nursing cadets scheme starting at County Hospital – which was in 1950. So in 1951 I went for an interview with The Matron at Hertford County and had to do an exam in English and Maths and write a story to say why I wanted to become a nurse. I was accepted and I started in September 1951, as a nursing cadet. There were 5 or 6 of us. We had blue dresses with white collars and we went round all the departments in the hospital including the kitchen. We did 3 monthly stints. The kitchen, The Path lab, sewing room, X-ray department and the Pharmacy which was invaluable because you got an overall idea of what went on – particularly in The Pharmacy. There was still rationing and because it was pharmacy they had plenty of sugar. We were only allowed 4oz. of sugar a week. So we always had sugar in our tea and coffee there
JH: So were you the first cadets?
AP: Yes. Well there was 6 months before us, when it started
JH: But it was still a very new scheme
AP: Yes. We had free lunches but we had to do certain exercises each work – playing table tennis and tennis and we got 5 shillings a week
JH: Were you living in?
AP: No. There weren’t any places to live then. I started training in 1953. We had our uniform but we had to buy our own shoes and stockings. They had to be black lace-up shoes. No jewellery apart from a wedding ring and your hair had to be tied back. To start with we did 3 months in training school with lectures daily. The cap that we wore to start with was a long tailed cap with a big frill at the back, with white apron, black stockings and black shoes. After 3 months we went on the wards from 8am until half past 4. We had 2 hours off during the day if we had to work until 8pm. It depended on how many staff were on at that time. We had one day off a week. At 8am in the morning we had to report to the Sister or Staff nurse. Then we had to make all the beds at speed and every bed had to be made properly with ‘envelope’ corners and all the wheels had to face the same way – because Matron came round later to view it all. If you hadn’t done it properly – you were in trouble!
JH: Had you done this as a cadet?
AP: We were lucky enough, some of us, to have done that as a cadet. Yes, it just depended how the matron felt you were progressing. We had only done cleaning and things but you were introduced to the wards. Loved it!
JH: So you did your nice ‘hospital corners’ and got that passed by the Sister!
AP: Yes, I did. We were all allocated jobs to do for the day. But we weren’t allocated a patient per nurse. We all had to do a certain amount. The one thing that we had to do was alot of cleaning to start with. Sluices, bed pans. But you just took it as read – that’s what everybody did. There was no fraternising. The staff nurses kept to their status, sisters also. Unless you had to talk to them – you didn’t. It was frowned upon. There was no conversation outside of business
JH: It was very much a hierarchy then?
AP: Goodness me, yes. And the fact that at meal times, we had one big dining room but the sisters had to eat first. Then the staff nurses then the junior nurses and we had to wait until they had finished before we could eat – hoping there was something left! The one thing that we did always do was at meal times – they were served up on a trolley and the sisters served the meals from that to the patients. But you never left a plate in front of a patient and hope that they would feed. You had to sit with them and feed them
JH: As a student nurse, that was one of your tasks, was it?
AP: Yes, it was and very important as well
One of the tasks was to give out the bed pans regularly – whether they were asked for or not. You made sure that the patient was comfortable on the bed pan. And then we had to do pressure areas as well, which was duty of the junior nurse. You took round a trolley and you washed the areas, the buttocks, all the pressure areas and then you put on methylated spirit and powder. This was a routine for every patient
JH: Did anyone ever get a pressure sore?
AP: A few got bed sores because they came in with them
JH: I should think it was a matter of pride not to allow then to develop
AP: We rarely had bed sores. All patients also had a blanket bath during the morning or were taken to the bathroom and aided if necessary – remembering that all patients were kept in for a week, 10 days, 3 weeks – varying with the condition. We also had to attend lectures by the consultants – very often after your duty. If you came off night duty, you had to go up to the classroom and listen to the consultants going on for hours, and you were half asleep. But if you fell asleep, you’d get shouted at from the front!
JH: That was all an important part of training then, to attend the lectures and take exams?
AP: Yes. We had assessments. We didn’t have exams until the end of the first year
JH: It sounds as if the training was much more practically based
AP: Oh, it was, Yes. You took part 1 and part 2 of your exams and in your second year, you started taking on more responsibility. You gave injections. You would help the staff nurse with the dressings. You also had to do 3 months of night duty. When you were on night duty, you still had to go to lectures in the morning. So you finished at 8am after giving the report to the day staff and then go on to the lecture, until probably half past 9 or 10am. Then go to bed and start to be ready for the next night shift
JH: Were you living in by this time?
AP: Yes. In living in, we all had our own bedrooms. There were 2 Home Sister, Sister Dilnott and Sister Hood. You had to be in by 10pm at night. The doors were locked and the porter, Mr Cotman, - if you came in late – he’d phone up to the night Sister and tell them that you were late and you got reprimanded for being even 2 minutes after 10pm, You had to make your beds in the morning and they had to have ‘envelope corners’ and be straight - all neat and tidy. If not, when you came back you’d find that the house Sister had pulled all the clothes off and you had to start all over again
JH: That’s like being in the army!
AP: Not half!
In the third year you had a neat little hat and you were given a blue belt – which was great. You had more responsibility and you were often in charge at night. We also had to go into the theatre and many times we had to scrub up and help the surgeons. But, again it was a very strict procedure in there and you got shouted at many times. But after the theatre you had to wash all the walls, everywhere. But we never got any infection
JH: So it was all spotlessly clean?
AP: Absolutely. If it wasn’t you were called back to do it again. If you were on call, when you were in the theatre and you might have finished your theatre work at 7 or 8pm, then go to bed and you’re called in the middle of the night to go back for emergencies
JH: So they did emergency operations in the night?
AP: Yes. Whenever. Mainly appendicitis and then you’d go back on duty again in the morning. You carried on regardless!
JH: So, how did you find those broken nights, and having to go to the wards and then perhaps attend a lecture?
AP: Hard. It was hard. We were all devoted nurses and you just took it - that was expected of you and you did it. But it was hard
JH: So the training went on for 3 years?
AP: Yes. At the end of our third year, we sat ‘all-day’ exams and practical exams and at a later date we had to go to hospitals in London to do our practical work. Mile End Hospital was one. And then we were also given new uniforms – purple with a white stripe dress. Stiff collar and armbands. And we had our hospital badge which was given to us at Shire Hall in a presentation and our parents were invited. They were all very proud, of course
JH: Who did the presentation? Can you remember?
AP: I think it was the High Sheriff of Hertford, and Matron
JH: And by this time, the other student nurses came from all over the place and weren’t just local girls?
AP: Yes. They had just begun to come from the Caribbean, particularly Jamaica and Trinidad. And from Germany and Italy
JH: Did you all mix together well?
AP: We mixed together well but the Caribbean nurses were not used to hurrying. They took their time and of course it used to annoy the senior staff, particularly the Sisters. So sometimes the English nurses helped them out. The German girls were very well trained and educated. One of them got the gold medal at the hospital.
JH: So it must have been interesting – a small town like Hertford in the 1950’s, having nurses come from all over the world. Interesting for the patients. Maybe their first contact with people from further afield
AP: But they all spoke English quite well, even the Italians. There wasn’t a problem with language
Occasionally you did get some of the older patients who were a little bit upset by a foreign nurse. Particularly the German girls.
JH: You’ve got to remember this was in the 1950’s – really a very short time after the war
AP: Yes and some of them had lost family in the war. It was difficult but we did get round it. If you knew a patient didn’t like a person, you wouldn’t let them go to that person. You found somebody else.
JH: In the end it could probably be very helpful, to introduce people who may never have met a German.
AP: So when we had taken our final exam, we got our papers to say you’re an SRN. It was the greatest joy!
JH: Your family must have been really proud
AP: Well, I was the only girl in the village that had ever gone in to nursing, so I got a lot of hugs and kisses!
JH: Quite a celebration, I should think. So, what happened when you qualified?
AP: I worked as a staff nurse for 6 months which was an acceptable time to stay after your training. Then I went on to Beckenham Maternity Hospital to do my midwifery. I spent 6 months there and then went on to Woking in Surrey and that’s where I met my husband. He came out of the army after being away in Malaya for 3 years. I was considering whether to go on missionary nursing, which I had started to prepare for. But I didn’t and then did 6 months at Perivale Maternity Hospital as a Staff midwife on the maternity unit
JH: Could you tell us what the midwifery unit was like then, in the 1950’s
AP: Yes. 1959. The maternity ward was still run very strictly. Although you were a trained nurse, you didn’t fraternise with the senior sisters. But it was more relaxed with the patients. All patients were kept in for 10 days. Before they were discharged, they all went down to the chapel to be churched
JH: What did that involve?
AP: It was just a service of thanksgiving for the safe birth of a child. You didn’t go out of hospital until you had been to the chapel to be ‘churched’. Babies weren’t with their mothers during the night. They were in the nursery so we had plenty of time to sit and cuddle the babies.
JH: Who delivered the babies?
AP: The Sisters. You only had a doctor if it was necessary. I delivered quite a few. Staff nurses and Sisters did the delivery
JH: So really the nurses were running that ward?
AP: Yes, they were but in difficulties we called the doctors
JH: What about visiting times for the fathers?
AP: All very strict. The fathers were not allowed to go and see their baby delivered. They were persuaded to stand outside. But there weren’t many who wanted to stay in those days. It wasn’t acceptable. All the patients were in for 10 days at least and they had their babies brought down to them for feeding times
JH: All regular times – no feeding on demand!
AP: No
JH: So you worked as a Staff nurse there on that ward and then you moved on to become a Sister?
AP: Then I got married. Had my first child. Went back as a Staff. Then a Sister’s post became vacant. At the time I was relief Sister. I went to each ward if the Sister was on holiday. Then Sebright ward – my one desire in life! The Sister retired – not the one I told you about – she’d gone a long while ago. It was Sister Austracher, she was German. She retired and I was given the post of Sister
JH: When did you take that on?
AP: That was in the late 70’s or early 80’s
JH: How were things then? I guess there were quite a lot of changes from when you started?
AP: Yes. A lot of changes. To start with, when we began nursing, no one was a called by their Christian name. That was important and even to this day, some of the people I worked with – I don’t know their Christian names. By the time I went as a Sister, it was getting much more relaxed. It might have been a good thing up to a point. But I think you need to have respect
JH: How about the hierarchy? You were obviously further up the order by then. How about the relationship with the doctors?
AP: Lots of the younger nurses were calling the doctors by their Christian names but the older generation didn’t. I still can’t. I still call then Doctor. But he calls me Angela
JH: How about the jobs you were doing? Had they changed?
AP: As a Sister, you had a lot more paper work to do. A lot of paper work. You had to do the financing in as much as what you ordered. In the earlier days you just wrote down what you needed – like dressings – and they just appeared. I t became much more like office work for the Sister
JH: So not as much direct contact with the patient?
AP: No. The younger Sisters accepted it. But it was rather hard for the older Sisters – giving up your patient care
JH: How about the hospital as a whole? Had that changed by the time you were a sister?
AP: When I went back to nursing, after having my family, I was a relief Sister and I spent some time on the nursing home. It was totally different from when I trained. In my training days, you had to be very careful in what you said to patients and if they didn’t want to speak to you – you had to accept that. They had visitors at any time – which was very difficult – because in the other wards visiting was only afternoon or evening for an hour. In the nursing home they would stay for hours on end. At meal times, it was always the nurse who had to cut the bread so thinly. You could be told off if you didn’t cut it thinly enough! They weren’t treated any different in general care but it was different from the general wards. You had doctors coming in frequently and they also had their own GP’s coming in which you had to deal with and be fully aware of what’s been going on and be questioned at times
JH: So you had to explain to the GP’s?
AP: Yes
JH: And you had some contact with the private wing?
AP: Yes. The nursing home was in the private wing. So you had to respect that they were paying
JH: The tasks that you had as a Sister were different latterly in your career – from when you were training. Could you say something about the other differences in the nursing
AP: Being a Sister in the old days – Sisters were considered to be fairly important on a ward. You had to live up to that. When patients or relatives needed to know something they came to the Sister to find out about treatment. You were only happy to help but over the years, it’s changed. There is more pare work and meetings to go to which take you away from the ward. Although I thoroughly enjoyed being a Sister and I had fulfilled my desire in life to become one – and indeed, would still do nursing. But just before I retired, I found it more difficult. The changes were frustrating for someone trained to care and love doing their job, I still see many of the people who I worked with. And patients - I meet in the street
JH: Thank you very much. That was very interesting