There’s no doubt that Mother’s Day will be very different this year as the third national lockdown continues.
All the more reason to show our appreciation for all the fabulous mums who work in our hospitals and out in the community, and to thank them for all that they do.
Here are just some mums who, not only work for the Newcastle Hospitals, but have children who do too!
Susan Landreth and her daughter and son all work at Newcastle Hospitals and live in Killingworth.
Susan joined in 2002, first as a clerk in the Freeman Hospitals’ outpatient department and then as administration manager for the pre-assessment clinic where she worked for 14 years before semi-retiring. She now works 30 hours a week in the human resources department, in the staff bank.
Her daughter Michelle is a children’s dental nurse at the RVI’s Dental Hospital. She has worked there since 2007 and loves her job which takes her to children’s wards, theatres and outpatient clinics.
Susan’s son Stephen has also worked for many years at the Freeman Hospital, currently as a critical care assistant in the Institute of Transplantation’s intensive care unit. After seven years in this role, Stephen aspires to qualify as a registered nurse.
Michelle and Stephen say their mum has always been there for them, both before and during their working careers.
“We really wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for mum,” says Michelle who is a mum herself with two daughters. “She has always been there to support us, through thick and thin, and has been just brilliant throughout the pandemic, whether it’s been helping out with the kids or just being there to listen.”
“Mum always encouraged us to believe in ourselves,” adds Stephen who is looking forward to welcoming Susan’s first grandson with fiancée Suzie in three weeks’ time.
“She instilled a great work ethic in us and because of that, we knew that we would only achieve what we wanted through sheer hard work and always trying our best.”
Karen Wilson and her daughter Stephanie Leech both work in the catering team – an essential function making sure they keep the trust’s staff fuelled throughout their working day.
Karen has worked for the Newcastle Hospitals for 12 years and is a supervisor in the Freeman Hospitals’ dining room. Stephanie joined her mum and the team 4 years ago and is now catering supervisor at Regent Point which is home to many of the organisation’s support functions such as IT, Finance and Human Resources, as well as acting as a base for many of our community teams.
Karen and Stephanie both live in North Tyneside and are in a support bubble and plan to see each other on Mothering Sunday.
Karen, who turns 50 in a month’s time says “We are really close. More like sisters really – I share pretty much anything with Steph and her brother. Sometimes too much!”
Dawn Wilson and her daughter Lucy both joined the RVI’s hotel services team two years ago. They have worked in the cleaning field for years but especially enjoy the diversity their jobs in the NHS bring, meeting so many different people and being able to understand what goes on in the background to help run an outstanding hospital.
Dawn works on the Maternity Unit at the RVI and so sees lots of mums with their new babies every day, and Lucy works mainly in the Emergency Department.
Lucy lives with her mum Dawn, as well as a sister and brother in Dinnington, so they will be together to share Mothering Sunday with their mum.
Of the day itself Dawn says she doesn’t really want anything special, though it would be nice if someone did the dishes and Lucy will start the day at work in the RVI. After all, hospitals need to be kept in check 24 hours a day!
