MENTAL health nurse Sylvia Parsons has retired after a career spanning nearly 60 years with the NHS.

Sylvia, of Minehead, began her career as a Red Cross cadet nurse when she was just 15 years old, after receiving a letter from ‘Matron Needham’, of the then-Tone Vale Hospital (now Cotford St Luke) asking if she would be interested in joining.

She said: “I was immediately interested in the opportunity. I had always wanted to go into nursing, and I felt this was the ideal way to begin my nurse training.

“I went for my interview at Tone Vale with Miss Needham, and I was accepted as a cadet nurse, which I continued until I reached 18, when I then became a student nurse at the hospital.

“In 1967, myself and three other colleagues decided we wanted a bit of a change, so we applied for positions at Exe Vale Hospital, in Exminster, and transferred across to the Devon hospital.

“It was working in Devon where I met my husband, who was actually from Minehead.

“We were married in 1969, which led me to move back to West Somerset, where I took up a role at Williton Hospital where I stayed for 15 years.

“At that time, the hospital specialised in the care of older people.

“In 1984, I saw an advert in our local paper about a new day hospital being opened in Minehead for people with mental health, called Bay Tree House, headed up by the consultant Dr Shree and charge nurse Mike Scoville.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Bay Tree House as we were able to take our patients out on day trips, which was really fun for everyone.

“We went to different garden centres and even excursions to the Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary, which was fantastic for our patients - many of whom never usually left Minehead.

“One year, with the help of a former patient who became a co-worker, we ran a brilliant pantomime where the patients danced and made crafts.

“All these type of activities helped many patients to feel well enough to leave hospital, and it was wonderful to know how much impact we made.

“The unit got bigger and started to see more patients, so we moved into nearby Stone Cross House.

“This was undoubtedly my favourite part of my career, as the team was amazing and I co-ran day services there with my former colleague Caroline Bradbury for about three-and-a-half years, where patients cooked their own meals under supervision.

“Finally, we moved to the Barnfield Unit at the new Minehead Community Hospital, where I have worked up until my retirement.

“So much has changed in mental health care over the years.

“When I began my career, we used to have padded cells in our units and different types of medication that are no longer in use.

“As the years went by, we began seeing patients for shorter amounts of time instead of them spending all day at our units, or even overnight.”

Sylvia said she had so many interesting stories from her career, although some of them were a bit risqué for the news.

She said: “When I was in Exe Vale, my future husband brought some of his friends down to Devon for the weekend.

“We had such a great time that one of my ex-colleagues fell in love with my cousin, and they are still married 50 years later.

“We got into so much mischief in those early years.“When we were young cadets, we had to be back at the nurses’ home at 9.30 pm before it was locked up for the night.

“But when we heard that the warden had gone to bed, we sometimes used to creep downstairs, climb out of the kitchen window, and go to a clubhouse.

“Another experience that I have never forgotten was when we were in class studying and the next thing, we heard a thud behind us.

“It was a fellow student who used to give me a ride home on his BSA 650 motorbike, who had a massive epileptic fit and crashed.

“Thankfully, it never happened when he was taking me home.”

Sylvia said she embraced the changes which had happened over the years in the NHS.

“I have really loved my career in the NHS, even through all the many changes I have seen, as the variety has always kept me motivated,” she said.

“I truly believe the work I have done has saved people’s lives and helped them to have a more positive, happier future.

“Hopefully, I will be able to take things easy and go on trips and outings with my husband and family more.

“I also love baking so that is something I am going to do more of for sure.

“I want to thank everyone who I have known during my career.

“I have made so many lovely friends who have been there when I have needed them, and I know I will miss them greatly.”