Since the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush in 1948, thousands of Caribbean men and women have contributed immensely to the NHS which was founded just a few weeks before the Windrush docked in Tilbury, Essex.
Jerish Devine, who works in the equality, equity and inclusion team, also comes from a family with proud Windrush connections. Her parents arrived from Jamaica in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Jerish’s mother came from St Catherine, Jamaica in the 1960s and worked as an auxiliary nurse.
She said: “My mother, Violet, worked many years as an auxiliary nurse and dedicated her life to caring for the patients she encountered. She then worked at Venesta Packaging LTD in Salford from 1973 to 1985. Her last working years were spent working in care homes until she retired. She was always helpful, kind and caring.”
It was in Britain that Violet met Jerish’s father Charles who was from Portland, Jamaica. The couple raised four children together, initially in Manchester’s Moss Side before moving to Salford.
Jerish added: “My father, also known as Reverend Charles Wilson, Pastor Wilson and Mr Wilson, was a loved and respected man, not just by his family and friends but also by the community. In the 1970s, he founded the first New Testament Church of God in Cheetham Hill. That church is still thriving today and is a living legacy of his faith and leadership.
“One of my aunts was also a nurse in the 1960s. Our parents also received awards for their positive contributions and the impact they made in the community for their work in the church over the years. They faced many problems, ignorance and prejudice, yet these challenges did not define them. They met every hurdle head-on.”
Windrush Day is marked each year to celebrate the contributions that Caribbean migrants and their descendants have made to the UK.
The day is named after HMT Empire Windrush which docked in Tilbury, Essex, on 22 June 1948, bringing hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean to the UK, many of them healthcare workers who were invited to rebuild post-war Britain.
Chris Cutts, regional director of workforce, training and education for NHS England in the North West, said: “I am proud to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of the Windrush Generation to the NHS, not just in the North West, but the UK as a whole. The contributions of this generation to building the fledgling NHS at the time must be recognised.”
