East End nurse who led child protection unit retires after 30 years
A nurse who founded a revolutionary child protection unit in Whitechapel is to retire after more than 30 years of service.
Maureen Pollex, 61, counts the Hatfield Suite as the pinnacle of her achievements as a ward sister for the Royal London Hospital.
The facility was opened in 1988 following a review by the government which called for more sensitive and child-friendly procedures in dealing with abused children.
Ms Pollex was instrumental in bringing about the unit and she became the only nurse in the Greater London area directly involved in such a project - most other units are run by police.
She retires this week from her role as both senior sister for safeguarding and liaison sister for paediatric A&E.
Ms Pollex, who lives in east London, said: “The suite was originally an experimental unit to interview children on video rather than writing everything longhand. It’s now become the norm.
“It’s very important that these children are in a child-friendly environment and looked after by child-friendly staff but that wasn’t always the case.”
Most Read
- 1 Tower Hamlets neighbours must 'temporarily leave' and pay £85k for building repairs
- 2 Appeal: CCTV image released after mosque attacked with bottles
- 3 Police looking for missing man last seen leaving hospital
- 4 Maskless passengers on London trains and buses fined 4,000 times
- 5 Cardboard boxes causing delays in and around Hackney Wick
- 6 7 of the best Chinese restaurants with delivery in east London
- 7 Whitechapel dessert shop fined over £5,000 for dumping waste
- 8 Girl, 17, held on suspicion of terrorism offences after east London arrest
- 9 Explained: What the cost of living support package means for you
- 10 Every household in the UK to get £400 to help with rising energy bills
Ms Pollex has headed the department for more than 20 years but also works with families of children that come into A&E at the Royal London.
She first joined the hospital in 1982 after completing her training at St Mary’s in Paddington.
Despite not having any children of her own, the dedicated nurse said she always wanted to work with young people.
She added: “To be in this profession you’ve got to be someone who enjoys fun and people. It also helps being a bit nutty if you’re working with children!”
Her colleagues, who have called her “inspirational”, threw a farewell party for her on Friday.