Dedicated nurse marks 50 years in profession

Anne Luscombe (67) was surprised by colleagues at Rotherham Hospice with a special celebration to recognise her milestone.

She recalled how she started as a student nurse at the age of 18 in 1973 in Sheffield.

Anne said: “I started looking after geriatrics and it gave me so much pleasure to know that somebody was being cared for right until the end.

“I looked after my dad and then my sister before they passed away at home.

“They had what I would class as a ‘good death’ and that is what I want others to experience.

“I do get emotional while working but that shows you care — the time you stop nursing is when you stop caring, and I still care.”

Anne said throughout her career she had witnessed many changes in the nursing profession.

"We used to have the time as community nurses to sit with patients and give them more support,” she said.

“Now we simply do not have that time because we are always short on staff.

"Being under-staffed in the nursing and medical profession puts a lot of pressure on frontline workers.

"Patients now get discharged very quickly from hospitals so communities are under even more pressure.

“It is also very difficult to get care for the people that need it from social services."

After retiring for three months, Anne made the decision to go back to nursing six years ago — and is still going strong.

“I am working right now to manage in my old age and to make sure that it is comfortable,” she said.

“When I do finish, I will probably do voluntary work — without the volunteers we would not manage at the hospice.”

Although the government has agreed to raise the NHS pay, Anne said it was still “not enough” during the cost of living crisis.

"Hospices are reliant on donations and contributions, and with interest rates going up people have not got the spare money to donate,” she said.

“But at the end of the day, the love of the job outweighs the money and that is the only thing that matters.”