A South Shields radiographer has bid an emotional goodbye to her colleagues after spending more than 50 years fulfilling her childhood dream.
Barbara Bell was just 10 years old when she discovered her calling while at Girl Guides. After her Guides leader recommended radiography as a career, she decided that she wanted to help diagnose patients - and she never looked back.
Just seven years after that life-changing day, Barbara joined the NHS at the age of 17, where she worked as a dark room technician processing X-ray images. She then went on to achieve her ambition of becoming a radiographer at South Tyneside District Hospital.
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Now, more than 50 years later, Barbara has finished her final shift at the hospital and is looking forward to spending time with her grandchildren.
“I’ve loved every moment of it, I find it really sad how quickly it’s gone," she said.
"I’ve liked the patient interaction and being able to help them and it’s not just X-rays, we do so much more.
"It has changed so much, when I started it was processing in the darkroom on film then we moved to cassettes, which we had to develop, now it’s all digital and so much faster. Working here has been just like being part of a family.”
The radiography department held a tea party to celebrate Barbara's retirement and the dedicated employee was presented with flowers from South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust’s Chief Executive, Ken Bremner MBE.
“I want to give Barbara my very best wishes as she begins her retirement," he said. "It was an honour to be there and thank her for her many years of dedication to the NHS and recognise the role she has played in helping our patients.”
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