Published on 2 July 2020
Ann Sheehan will never forget the date the NHS was created – it was also her 10th birthday.
And to add to the link, she was actually in Buckland Hospital, Dover, on that day, after having her tonsils removed.
The grandmother and mum of five is planning a quiet celebration with her husband on Sunday, but she will be joining in with the planned clap at 5pm to mark the 72nd birthday of the NHS and to thank staff and keyworkers for their work during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mrs Sheehan, who grew up in Dover and now lives in Folkestone, said: “I didn’t realise at the time the significance of the date, and nothing really changed in my treatment or experience in hospital.
“I do remember the surgeon was Dr Toland, who was our family GP. I came to at some point in the operating theatre and Dr Toland asked if he knew who he was and I did!
“I must have been one of the very first NHS patients, certainly locally.”
Mrs Sheehan, nee Sherred, met her husband when he was stationed at barracks at Dover Castle, and they married – with her parents’ permission – when she was 17, in 1956.
They lived in Ealing, and then in Ruislip in Middlesex, before moving back to Kent.
She said: “As a family we have a lot to thank the NHS for. I had an operation for lung cancer in November, and my older daughter has also had cancer treatment, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
“Mine was only a tiny amount and I was clear two weeks later, but I found out my daughter was poorly immediately after I had my operation, and I was terribly affected by that.
“She had to have five or six weeks of quite gruelling treatment but thankfully she is almost completely clear of cancer now.
“We joined in the Thursday claps when they were happening and we’ll definitely be out on Sunday to say thank you to the NHS for all they have done.”
