A WHISTON nurse, who came to England from the Philippines more than 20 years ago, says the NHS is something we should all be proud of.
Rowela Tonogbana, a respiratory specialist nurse at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, says it was a tough decision to leave her home country, but one she has never regretted.
The 46-year-old mum-of-one is a popular member of staff at Whiston Hospital and loves her role.
She said: “My friend saw an advert saying the Trust was looking for nurses to come to England 20 years ago and we went along for the interview and were lucky enough to get accepted.
“I was only relatively young then, so it was a big decision. But it is one I am so glad I made. The NHS has given me so many opportunities to develop my skills and helped give me and my family a very good life.
“Nursing isn’t always easy and we were very much on the front line during Covid, especially on a personal level working as a respiratory specialist and on the Covid ward.
“It was a very emotional time for staff, patients and their families and there were a lot of tears. It was all new to us and we had to learn quickly along the way.
“The Trust was superb though and did everything it could to make sure we had the tools we needed to do the best job possible. I was so proud of the way everyone reacted and to have been part of a team that helped so many patients at such an incredible time was something I will never forget.
“I love my job and if you enjoy your job you have a happy life and that is what the NHS has done for me. Nursing is a wonderful career which provides so many opportunities and I really would recommend it to anyone.’’