Rose Amankwaah meets the then Prince of Wales | Pic: PA
A senior Ghanaian nurse who has served the United Kingdom NHS since 1975, is to retire after her nearly 50 years of service.
According to details on news.sky.com, Matron Rose Amankwaah’s work with the NHS in the UK started just three years after she ran in the 100m relay for Ghana at the Munich 1972 Olympics.
An athlete and a former international sprinter, Rose Amankwaah was once described as the "fastest woman in Africa."
The report indicated that her retirement will officially take place at the end of March 2024, summing up her 49 years as a nurse with the NHS.
“The theatre matron started working for the NHS in 1975, just three years after she ran in the 100m relay for Ghana at the Munich 1972 Olympics.
“Mrs Amankwaah, known affectionately as Matron Rose while at work, has spent her whole nursing career at Central Middlesex Hospital in London. She was initially given weekends off so she could continue her athletics training,” the report stated.
She is said to have competed in several major competitions, including the Africa Games, the Commonwealth Games, and the Olympics.
In her own words, she said: "I'm happy that I'm going to have some time with my family but I have been in this hospital all my life, so retirement feels like losing something - you're part of the furniture and all of a sudden you are not going to be.
"But I'm so happy that I have achieved what I want to achieve."
In 2023, Rose Amankwaah was given the NHS Silver Medal Award by England's chief nurse, Dame Ruth May.
When she retires, Rose plans to visit Ghana immediately to see her 87-year-old sister, among other planned activities.
“She is still considering whether to stay on the nursing register and work in a bank role to provide supplementary cover when called on,” the report added.
More about Rose Amankwaah:
She arrived in England in 1974 when she was 22.
Shortly afterwards, she started training to be a nurse and later employed by the Central Middlesex Hospital in London as a staff nurse and finished her career as a theatre matron.
During her time at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, the mother-of-four and grandmother-of-10 has met both royalty and senior politicians, with pictures showing Ms Amankwaah shaking hands with the king, the then-Prince of Wales, and former prime minister Tony Blair.
Her athletics accolades include a bronze medal in the 4x100m relay at the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand in 1974, representing Ghana in the same race at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and a gold medal in a 200m race in an Africa versus America athletics competition in 1973.
She also won a silver medal in the 100m at the Africa Games and was part of the Ghanaian team that won the 4x100m relay at the same competition.
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