The retired nurses who returned to work to fight Covid-19
‘I was ready to come back and help’ Many EX-NHS staff answered a call to join their former colleagues as they battled coronavirus. Lisa Smyth asks two NI women why they re-entered the fray at such a risky time
It takes a very special person to come out of retirement and take up a role that could potentially cost them their life.
And yet, Marie Semple (62), a mother-of-three who lives in Clough, Co Antrim, with her husband Ian (64), did exactly that as she joined her former colleagues on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19.
Having spent her entire working life as a nurse, she didn’t hesitate when the call went out asking for retired health professionals to assist with the official coronavirus response.
And so, just one year after beginning her retirement, Marie found herself helping to care for some of the most vulnerable members of society during the height of the pandemic.
“It wasn’t a difficult decision,” she says.
“I was ready for it and then the Nursing and Midwifery Council put out for retired nurses to help with the pandemic and I thought, I’m fit and healthy, I have no commitments, I’m not responsible for anyone, so ‘why not?’.
“With all the redeployment, all the hospitals were well staffed and then the opportunity came up to go to care homes.
“It’s nice to be back, you know you’re helping and everyone is working as a team. There’s been no problem with personal protective equipment (PPE), I was a bit apprehensive the first time I went in but as long as there is PPE then I’m quite happy.”
This pragmatic approach to her work is nothing new, however.
It was while she was working as manager of a care home that an opportunity arose to fulfil a lifelong dream by joining the Army Reserve, which allowed her to combine her passion for nursing with her spirit of adventure.
So, her time on the Covid-19 frontline is not her first experience putting herself at risk to care for others as she has spent time nursing in war zones around the world.
As far back as she can remember, Marie wanted to be a nurse. Beginning her nursing career in the Seventies means that Marie comes from the era when the matron ruled the hospital.
She explains: “I was one of the last crowd to do the entrance exam for nursing.
“I lived in Musson House at the Royal Victoria Hospital when I started out and it was definitely hard at the beginning as it was during the height of the Troubles.
“I loved every minute of my training, it was totally different in those days — it wasn’t academic nursing that it is now, it was very hands on.
“I actually got married while I was training, which was unheard of in those days, and I had to ask for permission.
“Our crowd actually set a bit of a trend as there were about three or four of us who got married during training.
“I’ll always remember the first patient I ever inserted a nasogastric tube into — I know his name, and I remember removing my first one as well.
“In those days, everything had to be done in a certain way, the way things were folded, corners, everything was tidy.”
After she qualified, Marie remained at the Royal but once she became a mum, she discovered that night shifts suited the family better and she took up a job in a nursing home.
She also found she enjoyed working in the care home environment and the challenge of ensuring residents enjoyed a home from home environment.
“It was like something you would want for your parents or grandparents and we tried to make it the best we could,” she explains.
“I started out at a home parttime and ended up managing it.
“Also, in 2001 I joined the Army Reserve. It’s something I had always wanted to do. I was deployed to Iraq in 2003 just before the war started.
“I didn’t really know what to expect, I was away for three months and we built our own field hospital.
“It was a 100-bed built out of tents, there were so many people so it took a few days but it was quite basic — we made bed screens out of aprons.”
Marie spent her time in Iraq working on an infection control ward, looking after soldiers, many of whom arrived suffering from norovirus.
She forged lifelong friendships, although she admits it was a relief when she finally returned home.
“I didn’t know how long I was going to be away for and I was scared before I left but once I got my head around it happening, I was determined to go,” she says.
“I did two tours in Afghanistan as well, in 2008 and 2013. I would absolutely recommend it to any nurse or doctor or physiotherapist, or any medical professional, because there is such comradeship and it’s a wonderful experience.
“Ian was absolutely fantastic every time I went away — he knows what I’m like and he just rolls his eyes, he’s absolutely superb.
“He knows I love a challenge, I broke my kneecap in 1996 in a car accident and I had to have it wired together. Then I slipped and had to have it done again and they told me I would never run again.
“I liked that challenge so I actually ended up taking up running and doing six or seven marathons.”
After 17 years working in the care home sector, Marie decided it was time for a change and she began working in an adult centre.
She also spent time working in a number of wards in Antrim Area Hospital and in the community before she retired at 61.
And while she has had to give up running due to her knee, she remains active and now spends her spare time spinning and cycling.
Of course, there hasn’t been much of that since coming out of retirement but her priority in recent months has been to keep the residents in her care as safe and comfortable as possible.
“The care homes need our help and I’m quite happy to help and I’m working whatever they need at the moment, although I will be quite happy to slip away again once it’s all over,” she says.