Nurse who came out of retirement to help covid effort is still working for NHS three years on

A dedicated health worker who came out of retirement to help during the covid pandemic has loved being back at work so much she has no plans to put her feet up again.

Donna McPeake was among the many former NHS workers who returned to hospitals in 2020 as the health service faced massive challenges dealing with the pandemic.

And three years on, she's still helping others.

“I felt I needed to play my part – to be an extra pair of hands at a time of crisis,” said Donna, who works for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV).

“I’m very proud of the NHS, and very proud to be part of it. Working in health care was, and always has been, my vocation. It’s what I wanted from a very early age.”

Donna, who is originally from Seaham, secured her first NHS job at 18, when she started as a health care assistant at Cherry Knowle Hospital in Sunderland in 1981.

She went on to train as a state enrolled nurse (SEN) at 19 – following in the footsteps of her Great Aunt Veronica McKeown, who worked as a nurse in Liverpool during the 1920s.

“After leaving school at 15, I got a job in an accounts office and then in car sales. But I knew I wanted something different; I just didn’t know what at the time,” said Donna.

“One day I got talking to a girl who was a health care assistant. I was fascinated by the sound of her work and wrote a letter to Cherry Knowle, asking if there were any jobs. Luckily there were.

“I loved working with people, which is why I trained as an SEN. It was known as “the bedside nurse” at the time, as it was all about hands-on care.”

Once Donna finished her training in July 1984 she moved to York – working as an SEN on an older people’s ward at Naburn Hospital.

“One of the saddest things I witnessed were two ladies who had become pregnant out of wedlock years earlier. They were sent to the hospital and spent their lives there,” she said.

“I’ve seen a great many changes during my 42 years of working for the NHS, and I’m very glad that kind of thing is part of the past!”

Donna moved to Bootham Park Hospital near York after two years at Naburn, then on to nearby Clifton Hospital – where she worked from 1984 until 1989.

She went on to train as a registered mental health nurse (RMN) with York and Scarborough School of Nursing, before starting work at Worsley Court in Selby.

“Worsley offered respite and assessment for older people with a range of cognitive impairments, and I learned a lot there,” said Donna.

“After that, I moved to the adult team in Selby, where we dealt with range of enduring psychiatric disorders – such as anxiety, chronic depression, psychosis and bi-polar disorder.”

Donna thrived on the continued learning her role offered and, from 1992 to 2005, she worked as a community psychiatric nurse around Selby, York and Easingwold.

However, when evening and weekend working were introduced, she stepped down from full-time work due to childcare commitments – as her husband worked away.

Instead, she took on nursing shifts for four years, which fitted in better with her family needs, and studied for a Bachelor of Science degree in Heath Studies at the same time.

She then trained as a teacher through Huddersfield University, going on to lecture in nursing at York College and York University.

“It was when I started teaching that I knew I wanted to be a nurse again,” said Donna. “It was what I wanted and needed to do.

“Teaching was one thing, but nursing was what I felt I had to do. It was my vocation. Something I’d always been drawn to.”

Donna finally returned to nursing once her daughter started senior school, working as a community psychiatric nurse in older people’s services in York.

Just a few years later, in 2016, she became an advanced nurse practitioner in mental health services for older people – a role she enjoyed until retirement in 2020.

“When Covid hit, I came back to the Trust as a health care assistant for three months – and I’m still here! Life really has come full circle for me,” said Donna, 59.

“I know I’m lucky though. My Great Aunt Veronica had to leave nursing when she got married, as that was the rule at the time, while I can just keep on helping out.”

Donna now works at Foss Park Hospital in York and has many happy memories of her time in the NHS. Indeed, it has turned into a real family affair.

“When I moved from Seaham to York, I met my husband-to-be Mike, who was a nursing officer. He later became a senior nurse and a hospital manager,” she said.

“My youngest daughter is a nurse as well, working in a neo-natal unit, so it does seem to run in the family. It really is a vocation – and I’d definitely do it all over again!”