It charts the remarkable story of Doncaster grandma Blanche Hines, 81, who left Jamaica in 1957 for a new life in England, and her daughter and grandson who have followed in her healthcare footsteps.
Driven by a desire to travel and having a few relatives in the UK, the 18-year-old Blanche traded sunny West Indies beaches for cold, damp English weather, making the gruelling 4,700 miles sea journey with many of her countryfolk.
“After arriving I looked out of the window and couldn’t see anything – it was foggy and I had never seen fog before, it was very scary, said Blanche, who started nurse training a couple of months after disembarking in the UK”.
During her 47 years long nursing career, she worked in hospitals in south and west Yorkshire, including a spell in charge of Tickhill Road Hospital’s Elm Ward, before finally retiring as a colposcopy nurse in Genito Urinary medicine at Leeds in 2004.
“All my working life was spent in the NHS, I loved my time there”, said Blanche.
An outstanding, caring mum, with a real sense of adventure, Blanche inspired her daughter Andrea Palmer, 56, to follow her nursing career, starting at Doncaster Royal Infirmary in 1990.
Andrea worked there as a midwife until 2003, delivering many of the hundreds of babies born at the hospital every month, before moving into local practice nursing. She said: “I would recommend a career in the NHS to anyone, I really enjoy it.”
So, with wonderful role models in the two generations above him, it was hardly surprising that Andrea’s son Louis, 24, decided to plough the same career furrow as mum and grandma after completing a neurosciences degree in 2017. He’s now a member of the research team at Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), based at Doncaster — home town of the three generations of his family.
“Louis said: “I’m proud and excited to continue a family tradition started over 60 years ago by my grandma. I hope the film encourages other members of the BAME community to consider a career in the NHS, as there are many opportunities in a wide range of jobs to choose from.”
Produced by RDaSH’s Communications Team, the eight minutes long film can be watched on YouTube via this link: