Windrush: Bedford Hospital marks 75 years by sharing story of Grenada-born mental health nurse

The BAME Staff network at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are shining a light on the great Windrush Generation as we celebrate 75 years of the MV Empire Windrush arriving in the UK.

The launch of the NHS on 5 July 1948 and the arrival of the Empire Windrush 13 days earlier on 22 June are closely linked. Mainly former service personnel, this was the first wave of post-war immigration with many of the ship’s 492 passengers taking up jobs in the NHS.

Bedford Hospital has today (June 22) highlighted the great work done by former colleagues from the Caribbean.

Grenada-born Helen Prince left her home country in 1959 and took a 28-day journey to the UK. After initially working as a seamstress for a number of years, Helen began her NHS journey at Weller Wing as a mental health nursing assistant in 1982 and trained to become a nurse in later years. Helen retired from Bedford Hospital in 2006 after 24 years of NHS service.

When Helen died in 2016, she left a legacy of caring behind – and inspired one of her granddaughters to join the NHS.

Head of communications, Louanna Lubega, said: “Helen was my beautiful grandmother, who like many others, were part of the incredibly important Windrush generation who answered the call to come over to England to help rebuild the nation post-war.

She added: “Although I am not within a clinical role at the trust, I knew I wanted a career within the NHS to help and give back to my local communities – my grandmother was my inspiration for pursuing an NHS career.”

Zahra Gad, co-chair of the Trust’s BAME Staff Network, said: “Today, Black and ethnic minority colleagues make up 45 per cent of ourtTrust workforce and many were, or are descendants of the great Windrush generation, who created a lasting legacy for us all.

"We know these case studies are just a small selection of a much wider number of colleagues who came over to England to be part of our workforce. We continue to pay tribute to them all on this Windrush Day.”