Nurse felt 'thrown out' by NHS after having to retire from hospital role
A nurse who has given 48 years service to the NHS says she felt like she was "thrown out" after she says she felt forced to retire.
Carolyn Roberts, 66, has spent more than 43 years working at Chirk Hospital, including positions as ward manager and then becoming an emergency nurse practitioner in the minor injuries unit.
She had wanted to carry on her work which most recently had been managing outpatients.
But she says after taking the 'retire and return' path she had not realised that she would then be given a fixed-term contract.
It meant that she retired last week.
The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has said it will support the nurse to return to work.
Carolyn said: "It was not my choice, I would have liked to carry on, but sadly that choice was taken from me. I have enjoyed every minute of my career, and would not have changed a thing. I am really sad it has come to an end."
She explained that when she went down the retire and return route there had been no mention at all of having a fixed-term rather than a permanent contract.
"I asked lots of questions about the system and at no point was a fixed contract mentioned.
"Then I began to hear rumours that I was retiring. I asked for the rumours to stop as I wasn't retiring, as far I was aware.
"I was horrified to be told that my contract was coming to and end and I would have to retire.
"It felt like I was being thrown out, I was really upset."
The dedicated nurse said that she loved her job.
"I have a kidney problem and so I could have said that I would not work through Covid. But I could not have done that - I was determined to carry on working."
She said she felt as though the health board was penalising her for her age and the fact that she was in a high pay bracket.
"I have a lot more to give to the NHS but I am not being allowed to," she added.
Sue Green, Executive Director of Workforce and Organisational Development at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: "We would like to congratulate Carolyn on her 43 years at Chirk Community Hospital and an incredible 48 years in total for the NHS, we are extremely grateful to Carolyn for her lifetime of dedication.
"We cannot comment on a member of staff's contract, but we have assured Carolyn that this follows Health Board policies and procedures when retiring. We encourage Carolyn to stay in touch and we would support her in returning to work."
