6 September 2023
Coral Dawn Papaconstantinou fondly recalls living on site at the old RAH during her nursing training in the late 1970s.
Coral, who retired in July after 47 years as a Registered Nurse (including more than 30 years at Ashford), says the live-in nurses “had that camaraderie”.
“You’d get off your shift and if you’d experienced a death or something that had upset you, the nurses’ home was really good, it supplied endless loaves of bread and jam and tea and coffee. We’d sit around, have a cup of tea, have a piece of toast and we’d talk it out.
“I feel sorry for the younger nurses these days because you don’t get that immediate talking out that we got in those years. We talked it out with each other, we understood the plight of the other nurse. We’d probably seen it or were about to see it or we could imagine it happening. Just talking about it helped you go to sleep for the night.’’
For all its good points, the nurses’ home was not exactly conducive to late-night socialising.
“The receptionist was there until midnight and then the doors were locked, so you couldn’t stay out later than that otherwise you couldn’t get in,’’ Coral laughs.
“I mean I was a good girl, but I believe there was a way to sneak in, that someone could let you in. But there was a home sister and she lived on premises so you would have to be very quiet because if you disturbed her there’d be hell to pay.’’
Coral says she will enjoy the “freedom” that comes with retirement and was full of praise for the ANMF (SA Branch) which over the years had been “so good, so supportive’’.
“Elizabeth Dabars is a great leader,’’ she says of the ANMF (SA Branch) CEO/Secretary.
“I've been fortunate to meet her a couple of times. She has done great things for nursing. Such a great advocate.
“Having known so many secretaries over the years, Elizabeth has been more approachable as a secretary, being on the floor.
“She’s gone around to the actual hospitals and gone into recoveries and casualty departments and high-dependency wards and she’s spoken to the nurses when they are at work.
“Elizabeth has stuck to her guns and persevered and really done a lot of good things.’’
Coral said the most enjoyable aspect of nursing, in addition to the many friendships she made with colleagues, was “making a difference to patients’ lives’’.
“I spent the last 32 years in Ashford, I was in perioperative, day ward recovery, and mostly anaesthetics,’’ she says.
“I found with anaesthetics, you go around the day ward to pick up your patients for surgery and of course they are nervous and they will ask you questions. You try to relax them and be there for them on one of the most anxious days of their life.
“And to go out to recovery afterwards and say, ‘Hey, that was OK, wasn’t it?’ and just to get that wonderful smile and feedback, them saying “Yes, thank you, you really helped me’. That feedback is so nice.’’