Hospital Cleaner Celebrates 35 Years With No Retirement Plans

Sue Lee felt surprised recently. Her coworkers threw her a party, celebrating Sue’s 35 years with the NHS. Colleagues from maternity and cleaning surprised her, and tears definitely came to Sue’s eyes.

She didn’t know about the tea party, which showed Sue’s 35th work anniversary. She started at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, where she initially worked as a cleaner.

Sue began at age 22 and worked weekends at the hospital. She kept working until her kids went to school, then joined the staff bank.

She first had a cleaning ‘floater’ role, which meant she worked in many areas. The cleaning manager then offered her a permanent role in the maternity unit, which was fantastic.

Sue worked on many wards at Musgrove, although some wards closed during her time. The maternity building housed the Trinity unit then, which was for older people but is gone now. Ward A and Ward C also needed closures.

She moved around while other teams used maternity. Her favorite Musgrove memory involves the old clubhouse. It sat where the Cedars car park stands now. They ran courses there, and it was relaxing. They often gathered outside work, too.

She thinks reaching 35 years is a big deal. Sue didn’t realize the milestone until that morning, when her manager, Kami, told her about it at the interview for her story. The party occurred then, too!

Her time went quickly, Sue said. It feels like she just started at 22. She plans to stay, with no plans to leave or retire. Working keeps her happy, and she has made many friends.

The staff room tea party surprised her, and she cried because colleagues cared so much and celebrated her milestone. She went home thinking everyone cares.

Kamila Cieniewicz organized the celebration and is a cleaning team supervisor. She is grateful for Sue’s support, including that of all cleaning and maternity colleagues. It’s hard to describe Sue’s effort each day; she is kind and helpful to everyone.