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Nurse Retires After Astonishing 52 Year Career

A nurse who dedicated more than 50 years to caring for the sick has hung up her scrubs for the final time.

Reta Scott, a theater nurse at Glasgow’s Victoria Infirmary, has retired at the age of 70 – after a 52-year career.

Colleagues of the oldest NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde staff member have paid tribute to the woman they say lit up their hospital.

Reta first came to Glasgow from Sutherland in April 1957.

Aged 18, she left her family behind to train as a nurse at the Western Infirmary.

Three years later, she qualified as a nurse and went to the city’s Royston Hospital to further her training in the maternity ward before moving to work at a hospital in Fort William.

But Reta missed Glasgow and in 1966, she took a post at the Victoria Infirmary to support her two children, Margaret, now 44, and Murray, now 43.

Vocation

She said: "I was terrified when I first arrived in Glasgow. It was so confusing to see the big lights of the city after growing up in the Highlands.

“The people of Glasgow made all the difference to me though. Everyone was so friendly. I felt at home here.”

In 1971, Reta was promoted to theater sister after proving her talent away from the wards and in 1994, briefly took early retirement to help care for her daughter’s premature son.

But after a few months, she returned to the Victoria to work part- time.

A celebration lunch yesterday marked Reta’s last day as a nurse.

Andrew Robertson, chairman of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “Nursing is a vocation and it is quite clear Reta was always destined to be a nurse. She is a remarkable woman.”

Reta now plans to spend more time with her six grandchildren, volunteer at her local church and go on a cruise.

She added: “I love nursing. I will miss everybody greatly, from the other nurses to the surgeons, the porters and patients, but it is time to move on.”

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