NAVY NEWS, AUGUST 2009 9
It all ends with E5
IT WAS a quiet passing in surgery ward, not exactly Holby LNN Dowdall, who joined the Bastion in Afghanistan in January,
the end – 256 years of history
City or ER, but it takes its place QARNNS (Queen Alexandra’s and I go to Headley Court in
brought to a conclusion by the
in the annals as the last military- Royal Naval Nursing Service) in September.
closing of a nondescript door.
run ward to close at Haslar, which 1991, said: “It is nice to get back “This is our day – it has been
With sunshine reflecting off
dates back to 1753. into this uniform – I think it looks a really good hospital to work in,
a polished floor and footsteps
The MOD states that very few smart.”
and I really enjoyed it.”
echoing along an empty corridor,
military in-patients have been She and LNN Lyndsey Robinson
PONN Devesha Ramdhayan
ward E5 at the Royal Hospital,
treated there in recent years, with donned traditional uniform,
said: “I was the first Mauritian to
Haslar was locked up to await the
secondary care for almost all including starched hat with seven
join the QARNNS, in 2000, and I
removals men.
military personnel being provided pleats at the front (said to represent
was in Gibraltar when they closed
The patients had already gone
by major NHS trust hospitals the seven seas) and five rings at the
the hospital there.
– most discharged and allowed
since the mid-1990s. back for the five oceans.
“Now I am one of the last naval
home after planned operations,
But one Naval nurse was not Two colleagues from the Army
nurses to leave Haslar.
a few who needed a little longer
going to let the occasion pass and RAF also adopted the retro
“I am very sad to see it go, as it
taken on by other departments.
without a nod to history. look, one being E5’s deputy
has been a big part of my life – I
Some of the equipment and
And although the naval nurses’ matron, Maj Chris Birkby, who
met my partner here, too.”
paperwork had already been uniform was replaced by more wore grey with a red cape.
It was a red-letter day in
moved on to Queen Alexandra modern garb only two years ago, “I have been here on and off
more ways than one for the
Hospital (QA) in Portsmouth, site it seemed appropriate to LNN since 1991, going to Plymouth
fourth member of the dark blue
contingent – LNN Caroline Cater,
of the region’s Ministry of Defence Lesley Dowdall to give the iconic and back in between,” said LNN
who joined in 2002, is leaving the
Hospital Unit (MDHU). blue dress, white apron and folded Dowdall.
service and is seeking a career in
E5 was an elective orthopaedic linen headgear another outing. “I only came back from Camp
commercial shipping.
Over 300 military doctors and
nurses will continue to work for
Portsmouth Hospitals Trust in the
MDHU, gaining experience and
training to prepare for operations,
and making a major contribution
to the healthcare of the wider
Portsmouth community.
In reality Haslar ceased to be a
military hospital in 2001, since when
it has operated in partnership with
the NHS through the Portsmouth
Hospitals Trust, although the last
commanding officer only stepped
down in March 2007.
The process of transferring
clinical work to the NHS, mainly
at the newly-extended QA
Hospital, ended last month, and
the Haslar site – which includes
75,000 square metres of buildings
and accommodation – is already
the subject of commercial bids.
A new owner will have to
take into consideration 13 listed
buildings and buildings of historic
importance, as well as an extensive ● LNNs Lyndsey Robinson (left) and Lesley Dowdall fl ank PONN
● Staff from E5, the last military ward to close at Haslar, including LNN Lyndsey Robinson (in dark blue,
graveyard. Devesha Ramdhayan at the Royal Hospital Haslar as medical staff of
fi fth from left), LNN Caroline Cater (sixth from left), Maj Chris Birkby QARANC (red cape), LNN Lesley
Defence Estates hope to all three Services marked the closure of the last military ward at the
Dowdall (dark blue uniform beside Maj Birkby) and PONN Devesha Ramdhayan (right). Also in ‘historic’
complete the sale by the end of
Gosport establishment
uniform is Cpl Heather Palmer (RAF), fourth from left
the year. Pictures: Ken Dimmer (Moments in Time)
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009_NN_aug.indd 1 21/7/09 14:18:08
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