‘I always knew I wanted to be a nurse, and it’s amazing how much it has advanced’ – Janet, 43 years at our Trust
As we celebrate the 75th birthday of the NHS (Wednesday 5 July), we’re marking the special occasion by sharing the stories of some of our longest-serving members of staff.
Janet Copp (above), 65, our haematology specialist nurse, never had any doubt she would become a nurse, despite her mum insisting she had a backup and learn secretarial skills.
Janet said: “My grandmother was with the civil defence and got me into the Red Cross at an early age, which spurred my love of nursing. My mother made me learn some secretarial skills just in case, but I hated it.
“Finishing my training and getting my first job was the most fantastic feeling, I’d achieved what I always wanted. I’ve stayed in nursing so long because I love patients, and I love my haematology team as they’re so supportive.”
Janet, of Chelmsford, trained at Barts and joined us a year after she qualified, starting out as a staff nurse in radiology at Oldchurch Hospital. Within a few years she became sister for our surgical, gynaecology and haematology outpatients, before specialising in haematology in 1993.
She added: “I love working in haematology, we’re with patients a long time, sometimes years, and we get to know the whole family. There are lots of Christmas cards and hugs. Some of my fondest memories are when we used to have a Friday club where patients came in for treatment together and we’d order them all lunch – we had cakes for birthdays and a special Christmas lunch.
“I mainly deal with patients with leukaemia and lymphoma. You’re there right from diagnosis, hopefully through treatment to remission and cure, but we also do end of life care with the help of our Enhanced Supportive Care team.”
During her time at our Trust, Janet has been involved in the design of a dedicated day unit at Oldchurch Hospital, and our Sunflower Suite at Queen’s Hospital.
Having been in the NHS for more than half of its existence, Janet has been amazed to see how much the nursing profession has changed.
She added: “It’s brilliant to see how much nursing has advanced. We can do things now we never could when I started out, like prescribing, examining patients, running clinics and taking bone marrow. We’ve taken tremendous strides.
“We’re also always looking for new ways to help our patients and will be launching a supported self-managed pathway. This will allow them to come in for yearly blood tests, and I will be their contact if they have any problems. I love my team, I love my patients and I have no plans to retire any time soon!”
Janet, who lives with her husband Andrew and son Sebastian, as well as 15-year-old cat siblings Monty and Milly, is looking forward to celebrating the NHS turning 75, and is attending a special lunch for long-serving staff on Wednesday 5 July.