Christine Webster, Senior Library Assistant at the Princess Royal Hospital is retiring on 9th November. Chris first started working for the NHS as a student nurse in 1978 and worked at various hospitals in the region including Southlands, Worthing, the Royal Alex and Hove. She worked as a nurse until 1998, progressing to become a Ward Sister and somehow fitting in A’ levels and an Archaeology Degree! In 1999 she changed career direction and became a Library Assistant at Brighton General Hospital, moving to the Library at the Princess Royal Hospital in 2005.
Chris will be missed by all her colleagues; she is kind and funny and always goes the extra mile to help people. Recently, she received a well-deserved nomination for a Star of the Month Award from a library user she had assisted. She has a wealth of knowledge, not just about her job but about the wider NHS.
She has lots of plans for retirement including walking, gardening and travelling. Despite living in Sussex for most of her life, she has never lost her Yorkshire accent, or her love for the place she was born, and she hopes to go back to visit family once she retires.
Christine says:
“During my 45 years working for the NHS, I have had a variety of experiences, there have been a few sad times whilst nursing, but the good times far outweigh these. I have also had some fun and some very comical experiences which due to patient confidentiality I cannot repeat! The NHS is a great institution to work for and I will miss it as it has been a big part of my life.
I am looking forward to retirement, especially not having to get up early on a cold winter’s day. The one big thing I will miss is the people. I will miss my work colleagues both in nursing and in my career in the library. I will also miss our library users and some of the patients I have met along the way. I have been exceptionally lucky to work with some wonderful people.”