A travelling exhibition celebrating the contributions of Caribbean nurses, who were recruited to the NHS between 1949 and 1970, sparked vivid memories for one 81-year-old of her time working on a psychiatric ward.
Carmen Joseph moved from Jamaica to the UK in the 50s and worked at Holloway Prison.
She now lives in Hanover Housing Association’s sheltered accommodation in Newnton Close, Stoke Newington, where other Caribbean nurses came to share their stories to mark Black History Month.
Carmen said: “Each time the unit got really busy or received a particularly challenging inmate, they would call for me and say: ‘Come nurse all hell is let loose’.
“Nine times out of 10 all I needed to do was rush down, tell a few jokes and calm things down.”
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