Popular King's Lynn nurse retires after half-a-century

Colleagues of a nurse who has become part of their journey working in Lynn are celebrating her career before she retires after more than 50 years in nursing.

Rose Lowe, a healthcare assistant at the integrated contraception and sexual health (iCaSH) service hangs up her patient care hat for good later this month for some well-deserved relaxation and begin basking in all that rural West Norfolk has to offer.

The nurse turned healthcare assistant retires after 53 years and will be transitioning from healthcare to relaxation.

Gemma Owen, deputy clinical nurse manager said: “She said she wanted to go out with a bang. I know she’ll be proud as punch.

“We are really going to miss Rose. She has been a part of all our journeys working here and we’d like to thank her for her support, expertise, kind nature and empathy.

"We are truly grateful for everything we’ve learned from her and to call her a friend. We wish her all the best on her next much slower paced adventure."

"Rose has worked in sexual health for 15 years she was heard to say once that when she first began working in a GUM (genitourinary medicine) clinic she honestly thought it was going to do with dental/oral health."

However, it wasn’t long before she became devoted to HIV care. When she joined the clinic there were only three employees, herself as a nurse, a consultant and a receptionist supporting seven HIV patient. There are now hundreds.

The spark to go into nursing came after Rose was admitted to hospital and watched an old school friend nursing. At the time she thought how satisfying and interesting it seemed and little did she know then where her career would take her.

That thought stayed with Rose and she started nursing in 1969 at a hospital in East London. She loves to make a difference to the lives of those she treats and has never once regretted her decision to train. She was a registered nurse for many years before ‘retiring’ to become a healthcare assistant as she wasn’t quite ready to leave.

Colleagues said that there has been many funny moments as a team, maybe too many to mention and some probably not appropriate to share!