Long-serving nurse marks retirement with head shave to help Barrow hospital baby unit

A long-serving nurse braved a head shave upon her retirement to raise funds to help babies at a Barrow hospital.

Julie McKenna, a clinical leader in the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Furness General Hospital (FGH), decided to go out with a bang by staging the fun head shave event to mark her retirement.

It was a great event with Julie’s colleagues and families joining in.

Everyone had a fantastic time raising money for the unit via Bay Hospitals Charity.

The event took place at one of the monthly ‘Tea and Tots’ sessions in which families that have been cared for by the Special Care Baby Unit team are invited to come back, have a play, catch up and a well-earned cup of tea.

Julie started working in the NHS in 1987 as a paediatric nurse and has worked in the SCBU at FGH since 1997.

She is now ready to take her pension, enjoy a few holidays and have some well-deserved time off to enjoy lake swimming and relaxing in all the spas she can book into!

She is planning on returning after her holidays to continue her amazing care as a highly experienced Neonatal Nurse.

Julie wishes to raise money as part of her retirement plan to enable the SCBU to purchase a vital piece of equipment. She has raised nearly £1,500 so far and is aiming to raise even more.

“Julie is a fabulous colleague and seeing her have her head shaved for charity was amazing," said Samantha Griffiths, neonatal coordinator at the SCBU at FGH.

"She is such a star and deserves to be recognised for the wonderful care she has provided since the 1980s. She is a shining example of a truly great nurse and colleague. Thank you so much Julie!”

Suzanne Lofthouse, head of charity and fundraising at Bay Hospitals Charity, said: “On behalf of Bay Hospitals Charity, I’d like to say a massive thank you to Julie for her fabulous fundraising efforts. The funds she has raised will help to significantly enhance the care of babies at our hospital in Barrow and we are extremely grateful for this.”

Anyone who would like to contribute to Julie’s fundraising activities can do so via her Just Giving page at: Julie McKenna's Retirement Head Shave | Bay Hospitals Charity

Bay Hospitals Charity is a registered charity which raises money to help improve patient care and patient experience at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Furness General.