Memories of working in Casualty departments in the former Falkirk and Stirling Royal infirmaries were the topic of conversation when these former Sisters met at Forth Valley Royal Hospital to celebrate 50 years of emergency medicine as a speciality. They recalled when A & E was staffed by just one nurse and one doctor and the role of the so-called Casualty Night Runner who, when a patient arrived, would check whether the emergency doctor should be woken!

All spoke about their pride in their NHS uniforms with long sleeves and starched cuffs and fondly remembered caring for one another as part of an extended family.

Pictured (left to right) are Marguerite Western (formerly Gow) from Dunipace, Maureen Birrell from Stirling,  Sheila Macdonald (formerly McNaughton) who lives in Blackford,  current Senior Charge Nurse in NHS Forth Valley’s Emergency Department, Glynis Fotheringham and Margaret Fleming from Doune. In front is Rena Horne from Alloa, a former Nursing Officer in Stirling who worked in the Casualty Department for 36 years.

NHS Forth Valley Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Dr Elspeth Pitt, speaking at a local celebratory event to mark the special anniversary, said: “Not only does this event celebrate half a century of emergency medicine as a specialty, but it also celebrates the hard work and excellent care which continues to be delivered in our Emergency Department, Minor Injuries Unit and hospitals every single day.”

Throughout the week patients attending the Emergency Department at Forth Valley Royal Hospital were given goodies and information packs about how to help people with drug and alcohol problems, ways of avoiding accidents in the home and saving lives through organ donation.