On the NHS 75th birthday, our Strategic Director of Nursing reflects on four decades at Worcestershire’s hospitals

As well as celebrating 75 years of the NHS today, one colleague is also toasting 40 years at Worcestershire’s hospitals and reflects on her four decades of service.

Amanda Moore, Strategic Director of Nursing for Outpatient Improvement at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, joined as a pupil Nurse on 4 July 1983 aged 18 and remembers being asked during interview if she was married or engaged to be married with recruiters at that time preferring women who were single and fully committed to training for their role.  

Still adhering to military style recruitment rules at the time, the NHS also expected nurses to live on site, adhering to strict rules and curfews.

Bucking the trend, Amanda and a friend named Jackie she’d met in training were instead granted permission to live at home and their similar living arrangements meant they soon became close friends. Amanda asked Jackie to be bridesmaid at her wedding the year later and the two remain close friends to this day. 

Forward on 40 years later and Amanda’s two daughters – Becki Murphy, Senior Sister for Outpatients, and Laura Manners, Directorate Support Officer for Surgery, also work for the Trust alongside Laura’s husband, Becki’s mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law and two of their cousins! 

Thinking over her decades of service in Worcestershire’s hospitals and the changes for women in the NHS over this time, Amanda says: “I am amazed at the people I have met and the lives I have been part of at both happy and sad times of life. I have been allowed to develop my skills to enable me to lead teams and become a Director of Nursing when I was told at interview I would have to nurse at the bedside and to not get ideas of being a Staff Nurse and managing other staff in the future. 

“The lessons we were taught have not differed too much to the present time but one clear difference was we were given lessons on how to apply make-up discreetly and encouraged to wear some as it would make the patients feel better! 

“The NHS is great to be part of and I am proud both my children and the wider family are undertaking worthwhile careers at the same hospital too. I am honoured to have worked in Worcestershire for all of my career and work with wonderful people who always to put the patient first.”

Discussing the inspiration her mum was in choosing her and her sister Laura’s career, her daughter and Senior Sister Becki, said: “Mum has always worked incredibly hard and Laura and I have always been encouraged to make decisions on our careers to suit us and what we wanted to do. 

“It is fair to say that we always had the NHS ‘in our blood’ and we naturally gravitated towards a career here at Worcestershire. Although Laura and I have very different roles, we are always put our patients first. We are both so proud of Mum and what she has achieved so far in her 40 years of service.”

If you are interested in following in Amanda’s family’s footsteps and starting an NHS career at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust