A 94-year-old with almost 60 years of service to the NHS has been recognised with a Long Service Award and a message from His Majesty The King.
Lucia Cascioli, a domestic assistant at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, was presented with the award by His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Kent, The Lady Colgrain, at a ceremony held on 5 July at Tunbridge Wells Hospital. The Lord Lieutenant also brought Lucia a message of congratulations from HM The King.
The Long Service Awards were part of the NHS’ 75th birthday celebrations and recognised the outstanding contribution that staff like Lucia have made to the NHS.
Lucia, who will turn 95 next January and is originally from Italy, began working at St Augustine’s Hospital in Chartham when she first came to England. She moved to Nunnery Fields Hospital and by 1989 was working at Oakwood Hospital. When Oakwood closed in 1994, Lucia was transferred to the newly opened Maidstone Hospital and has worked at the Trust ever since as a domestic assistant. “I miss Italy” said Lucia. “I haven’t been back in quite a few years, but I’m too old to travel now.”
Lucia is a well-known figure at the Trust, not only for her length of service but also for her age and charisma. “I’m the oldest one here, so everyone knows me!” she said. “I work and talk! I joke and laugh a lot, and have a lot of fun with people. If you get on well with people, they get on well with you. If you are good to everybody, everybody is good to you.”
Domestic Manager, Iryna Afafsfa, added “Lucia knows everyone one and is the boss! When she worked in the doctors’ mess a few years ago, she was bossing all the doctors around. Everyone loves her and has a lot of respect for her.”
Talking about her long career in the NHS, Lucia said “I’ve been a cleaner all my life, and I like the job I do. The thing I like most about working in a hospital is meeting lots of people. I like working with patients very much. If I have the chance to help them, I help.”
Asked whether she has ever considered taking a well-earned rest and retiring, Lucia replied “When I retire, it will be in a coffin! I had to shield during COVID-19 and was really worried about having to stop work. I’m a hard worker, and I like my job. I want to carry on with it as long as I can, if they’ll let me!”