00:00So we're just here with Ros in Cowsley and Ros there's a few cut-ins on the board behind you.
00:06You've had quite a busy life. Just fill us in on what your day job was first. You were a nurse.
00:12Yes, I was a nurse. I started my nursing career at Dudley Guest Hospital and then moved to Burton
00:22Road and then moved to Russell's Hall when it opened. When Russell's Hall opened I was
00:32a nurse on an acute medical ward and I was having also the leukaemia patients but unfortunately
00:42we hadn't got the facilities that we needed for the patients at the time. So we started
00:48fundraising from day one of moving into Russell's Hall to get their equipment and the
00:58things that we thought that we would need for our patients. Yeah, so it's 40 years isn't it
01:04of fundraising? 40 years of fundraising, yes. That's just crazy isn't it really?
01:10From fundraising to alter the ward to then going on to fundraise for a proper unit.
01:20Yeah and you did eventually get that unit didn't you? Which was 26 years ago. Yeah,
01:25is that the Georgina unit? Georgina unit at Russell's Hall Hospital and so it cost us 1.1
01:37million pounds. Yeah. And that took us quite a while to fundraise for because it was a time of
01:44recession within Dudley and Starbridge where you had got all the cutbacks in the local industry
01:54but we managed it and we got there in the end. Was that when Ian Botham came to open it? He did.
02:00How did that come about then? Who got his number to hand?
02:06Ian did a lot of fundraising for leukaemia research and so when we were opening the
02:18Georgina unit I thought who could we get to open that? So yeah. So there's a lot of people that
02:25are kind of in job roles and they think well where I work this could do with this and this
02:31could do with money but they don't actually get up and do anything about it necessarily.
02:36So where did this energy come from, this spark that I'm going to be the one, I'm going to change
02:41this you know? Well do I sit around and accept things as they are or do I go out and actually
02:52do something and change and get what I want for the patients? Yeah. And that was the drive really
03:00you know, what do the patients need, what do the patients want and so that's what the 40 years
03:07have been about. And there's a Georgina charity shop as well is that right? A Georgina unit? We
03:13have two charity shops, one at Upper Gornwall and one at Tipton and Pauline Jenkins set those up
03:26and runs those and they've been a real earner for us in the way of developing the charity.
03:37So we've been looking through the archives, there's one or two cuttings isn't there?
03:42Some of the events you've done over the years that come to mind, go on run through some of
03:47the quirky things you've done. Oh quirky things, bed pushes, we've played rugby a couple of
03:55times against Dudley and King Swinford making the lads play in wellies and then we've done
04:04the raft races, we've done... What about your jam jar thing? Oh yeah, so I've done the jam jars and
04:17over the last 15, 20 years and those have raised over £20,000 and that's for our pennies. And
04:27that's simply encouraging people to put some pennies in a jam jar and bump £25,000 comes of
04:33it, fantastic. So that's all helped and you know, as I say, the mayors of Dudley have always been
04:43very supportive in our endeavours in what we actually do. So you have a ball as well?
04:53We've had several balls over the 40 years and so we've had fun as well and the patients have
05:01enjoyed it, you know, as well as the staff in taking part and making a difference. And you're still
05:09in touch with some of the patients aren't you? There was a young girl on one of the pictures we
05:13got down there, a young Michelle and you were saying she's in touch now and that was many, many
05:18years ago you first met her. Oh yes, I've had a lot of patients that are still in touch over the 40 years.
05:24Yeah, so well it's, you know, they become your friends. Yeah. You know, in a way they become your
05:32extended family. Yeah. You know, because you know, you're such a part of their life when they're
05:40they're going through treatment. Yeah. And it's important. So when did you step down from working
05:47as a nurse on the ward for us? 12 years ago. Yeah. I should imagine that was quite a hard decision
05:53to make at the time. You were, you know, so much of your life was invested and worked
05:59around it. Was it quite difficult to kind of get to that day and think I'm going? That's it, you get
06:06to a stage where you think it's time. Yeah. You know, and that's it. So you were, you just
06:17make the decision. Yeah. And for 40 years of fundraising, have you ever tried to put a
06:24figure on what you've raised? Well we've tried to look at it. Ian Pearson, Lord Dudley,
06:34asked me not long ago and so we tried to put a figure on it and we reckon that we've raised over
06:4010 million pounds. That's crazy, isn't it? Well you think of all the things that we've achieved
06:47for the patients. Yeah. You know, the unit and one of the latest greatest things that we've
06:53achieved is chemotherapy at home for patients. Okay. And during the pandemic that really saved
07:00patients' lives. So even now you're still trying to help and do your bit, yeah? Oh yes, because we
07:07want to expand chemotherapy at home. Yeah. That's with the hospital board at the moment. Yeah. So
07:13we're hoping to take that forward and we need some more changes to the units, more isolation rooms.
07:20Yeah. Because that's one of the things the pandemic really showed was that we hadn't got
07:26enough isolation rooms. Yeah. So again, the plans for that are with the hospital board.
07:34So that's what we're fundraising for at the moment. Any particular highlights for yourself
07:39over the years? I mean you were given the Merrill Award the one year. Anything come to mind as it
07:44stands out there was a very proud, you know, moment for yourself? I'm sure there's been many.
07:49The house actually, I mean. I was awarded the Dudley Merrill Award for
08:0120-something years ago. Yeah. And I also got the Nursing Cancer Nurse of the Year Award in 98.
08:14Oh wow. And you know, it's, you know, it's sometimes it's not the big things like that.
08:25Yeah. It's a little thing. Like there wasn't anywhere for day case patients to receive their
08:34therapy. So I moaned so much they gave me an office. Yeah. Which became this cupboard.
08:44And so we started day case there. Yeah. And then opening the big day case unit was absolutely
08:53amazing. Yeah. You know, and I was also lucky to be awarded the
09:02West Midland Travel Scholarship. And I was able to go to New York to the big cancer hospital in
09:10New York, the Memorial Sloan Kettering. Yeah. To have a look and see how they treated day case
09:17patients there, cancer day case patients. Yeah. So when you kind of, do you ever, you know,
09:24reflect back and you must be very proud of yourself of what you've done. I mean, just,
09:29you know, a nurse in her career should look back and be proud. But on top of this, all this extra
09:34stuff, do you kind of, do you give yourself some time to give yourself a bit the credit that it's
09:40deserved? Well, sometimes with my nurses, especially because I'm still involved in
09:49nursing scholarships for cancer nurses at Russell's Hall Hospital. And yes, when I see how
09:58their careers have developed. Yeah. You know, that's utterly amazing. You know, several of
10:04them are consultant nurses now or they're nurse specialists, you know, and the scholarships,
10:13I think are one of my proudest things that I've developed for nursing staff. Yeah. Well, Ros,
10:20anything else you'd like to add to our little chat? You've done so much over the years. I mean,
10:26frankly, I'm exhausted just looking at the pictures of what you've done, let alone being
10:30the one that organises it. Yeah. I suppose one of the other things I'm proud of is I instigated
10:38and thought about the first nursing book on nursing in the haematological malignancies.
10:49And so I think that was quite a proud moment to see the book, you know, that had been printed.
10:56And I went to Australia to give a lecture. Yeah. And to see the book on the shelf in Australia,
11:09that was quite a moment. Yeah. And you think, well, I did that. I've made me mark. Yeah,
11:18that's it exactly. Yeah. Well, Ros, just on behalf of the Expression Star and on behalf of everyone
11:24in the black country, really, thank you ever so much for all the work you have done and continue
11:28to do for us all. Thank you, Ros.
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