Our News

From the Philippines to Peterborough – a quarter of a century ago, a group of skilled and experienced nurses travelled the thousands of miles to make the city their new home.

 

This month, they have been recognised and thanked for their many years of service and dedication to patients in and around the city. 

November 10 marks the 25^th anniversary of the group’s arrival, seeing them take on nursing duties in a range of specialities at the former Peterborough District and Edith Cavell hospitals.

Of the 34 original nurses, nine are still in post at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust.

 

They remain key members of staff as well as of the local Filipino community – which itself has grown with the arrival of more nurses at Peterborough City Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon. 

Others from the original group have since retired or have moved elsewhere in the country and abroad, including America.

Among those still in post in Marlet Elefante. Not only did November 2000 mark the start of a new career for Marlet Elefante, but it also saw the beginning of a love story – as she met her husband Richard in the same group of nurses arriving in Peterborough!

Having worked in both Critical Care and the Emergency Department in the Philippines, Marlet hadn’t initially planned on working abroad but found herself taking the Screening Exam while she was waiting for a close friend who was submitting documents for a Nursing job in the UK. 

Marlet – who continues to work in Critical Care at Peterborough City Hospital – said: “I came to accompany her, but I ended up leaving for the UK before she did!”

Those nurses still living and/or working locally had the chance to meet up informally in the hospital’s staff reflection garden – where they had the chance to reflect with each other on their many years of service – also proudly wearing the national dress of the Philippines.

 

Congratulating and thanking the nurses for their dedication and commitment to healthcare locally, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Charlotte Williams, presented each of them with a certificate. 

Charlotte said: “A huge thanks from everyone at the Trust to our wonderful Filipino nursing recruits for the excellent care and support they have provided for our patients since the year 2000.

“It cannot have been easy to leave family and friends thousands of miles away to follow their professional dream. It’s an honour to know they call Peterborough 'home' and have made their lives here."

 

Some of the Filipino nurses with Trust Deputy Chief Executive Officer Charlotte Williams — and pictured with their certificates.