St George Hospital’s service champions
This week, the 2024 SESLHD Service Awards made their way to St George Hospital (SGH) to celebrate staff who have reached 10 or more years of collective service to NSW Health.
Having spent their careers caring for others and giving back to our healthcare system, on Monday afternoon it was our staff’s turn to have their moment on stage and celebrate with friends, family and colleagues.
Having spent 30 years working at St George, Nurse Unit Manager Nicole Rennie is a familiar and friendly face to many around the hospital.
“I started here at St George on 11 April 1994 as a bright-eyed, 20-year-old new grad. My last rotation in those first 12 months was the operating theatres. I’ve been there ever since!”
A career highlight that has stayed with Nicole was working as a scrub nurse on a surgery for people with Parkinson’s.
“The patients were awake, and you would see them come in with a tremor and once they left there was no more tremor. That was so fulfilling as a nurse to see that.”
“What keeps me here after 30 years is the people I work with. St George is a fantastic hospital to work at – always has been. [I love] knowing that I help people on their journey.”
Celebrating an impressive 45 years in NSW Health is Deborah Rae, a Nuclear Medicine Technologist at SGH.
“My career highlight in all that time has been the joy of working in the hospital, working with patients and students. You don’t work for 45 years unless you love what you do!”
Deborah says a lot has changed in the last 45 years, from the facilities on the hospital grounds, to technology – but the commitment to patient care has not wavered.
“There were no CT scanners when I started. Students say to me, ‘What were computers like when you first started?’ and I have a little laugh and I tell them, ‘We didn’t have any computers when I first started here!’ and the look on their faces is just priceless!”
Joshua Wakefield, Acting Head of Physiotherapy at SGH, is marking 10 years of service. Josh’s mantra is “to treat the patient as if they are a member of your own family.”
Reflecting on his career to date, Josh says the height of the COVID-19 pandemic created some important opportunities for him to learn and grow – helping with testing and welcoming incoming passengers at the airport.
“It showed me how adaptable and flexible the people in NSW Health and our District can be.”
“Everyone is so passionate and driven to deliver high-quality, safe patient care, and I find that really inspiring.”
Finally, congratulations to Caroline Reilly who was recognised for contributing an incredible 55 years of service to NSW Health. Imagine the changes she has seen since starting her career in 1969!
