A FORMER nurse from Alloa, who worked in a casualty department for 36 years, celebrated half a century of emergency medicine as a speciality with her ex-sisters.
Rena Horne was a nursing officer with the casualty departments at Falkirk and Stirling royal infirmaries and was at Forth Valley Royal Hospital recently to share memories of her career.
Along with others, she recalled how A&E used to be staffed by just one nurse and one doctor and that when a patient arrived, the so-called casualty night runner would check whether it was worth waking the emergency doctor up.
During their lively chat, Rena and her fellow retired health staff spoke about their pride in their NHS uniforms with longs sleeves and starched cuffs, fondly remembering how they cared for one another as part of an extended family.
Dr Elspeth Pitt, NHS Forth Valley consultant in emergency medicine, said: "Not only does this event celebrate half a century of emergency medicine as a speciality, but it also celebrates the hard work and excellent care which continues to be delivered in our emergency department, minor injuries unit and hospitals every single day."
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine is the single authoritative body in the UK for the speciality – the first meeting of its forerunner, the Casualty Surgeons Association, took place 50 years ago.
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