Philippa Tennyson has done only one job outside her home duties and as she nears the end of her stint, the attendant at St Ann’s Bay Hospital says she has no regrets.

“Mi enjoy it right to the end; it was nice working here,” the longest-serving female attendant at the facility stated.

For the last 28 years she has been serving others through her duties as an attendant. Tennyson said that she landed the job after her mother, who was working at the hospital for 20 years, asked if she would be willing to work there.

“She said if I like it, I can do the interview,” she explained.

Tennyson did not hesitate and said that she would do it all over again.

“I enjoy it,” she told the Jamaica Observer during an interview recently.

Tennyson started out serving meals, but she soon switched to cleaning, and that she has done with a passion. Although there are days when patients can be “difficult”, she said, she admitted that it has always been a pleasure to ensure that the health facility is in the best sanitary condition.

Tennyson, who has been working in the Accident and Emergency Department for several years, said that she enjoys working in that area.

“You get a lot of experience working here,” she suggested.

While the work can be challenging at times, Tennyson said that it has always been her desire to do her best.

“Patients can get you angry, but it is your job,” she said.

Tennyson said that she has always respected her work, and ensures that she arrives on time and performs to the best of her ability. So dedicated is she to her job, that if she does not show for work, people know that something is wrong.

“She is the best worker at St Ann’s Bay Hospital,” Olive Richards, Tennyson’s co-worker, stated. Richards, who has been working with Tennyson for 13 years, said that the senior attendant is not only dedicated to her job, but helps her co-workers in whatever way she can.

“She is a very hard worker,” Veronica Nelson Mills, another co-worker added. The women also described Tennyson as a kind and jovial person.

“She laughs over everything,” Nelson Mills went on.

When Tennyson travels overseas, her co-workers know that she will bring back ‘goodies’.

“If it’s even a soap or sweet, she takes something back for us,” Nelson Mills said.

The children of her co-workers can also expect something from Tennyson, who is like a mother to all the little ones — always looking out for them.

Now, almost at the point of her retirement, Tennyson said that she has no regrets and would not hesitate to do her job all over again if she had the opportunity.

–>