'Colleagues were on their knees' - nurse explains why she came out of retirement during pandemic

Jeanette Polson retired from full time nursing in 2018 but rejoined Hartlepool’s hospital trust after answering a call by the NHS to help deal with the impact of coronavirus.

She said she still has a lot left to offer and wanted to do her bit after seeing the pressure the virus put on the NHS and also staff getting Covid-19.

Jeanette, 56, rejoined North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and is an urgent care nurse practitioner.

She said: “I could see colleagues were on their knees and I wanted to do my bit to help.

"We were seeing some get the virus, many others were having to isolate and others have had to shield.

“Being an urgent care nurse, we are on the front line caring for patients with a range of issues.

“I wanted to make sure all patients coming into the organisation were getting the help they needed.

“I retired at 55 but I still have so much nursing left in me. I love my job and my patients so much.”

Related story: Hartlepool’s Covid infection rate starts to fall

Jeanette, from Wingate, has worked in the NHS for 40 years training to be a nurse in 1991. She has worked across a range of urgent care and emergency services in Sunderland, Peterlee and Middlesbrough before coming to the North Tees and Hartlepool trust in 2017.

She added: “My manager Nicola is fantastic, as are the whole team here. I have a huge amount of loyalty to the organisation.

“Yes, the role can be stressful – quite often you are exhausted coming off a shift.

"Many patients coming to urgent care have been frightened, some have even tried to avoid coming here when they needed our care because they didn’t want to be at risk.

"We are here for them and always will be.”

Hartlepool recorded 35 new cases of the virus on Monday, January 18, taking the official total number to 7,087 since last March.

A total of 216 local people are being treated in hospital with 15 on ventilation.

Support your Mail and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest on Pools and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.