“If one fainted, they all fainted like dominoes” – meet blood donor attendant Doreen 

Our residents have contributed so much to our society – just like blood donor and immunisation attendant Doreen.

The 90-year-old, who lives at our Wantage Nursing Home in Oxfordshire, featured on the front page of the Oxford Times in 1956, in a call for more blood donors to come forward.

Doreen recalls how some volunteers needed a little TLC after their experience. “If someone fainted, I used to prop their legs up with a box so the blood ran back to their head! We did sessions at the university and if one fainted, they all fainted like dominoes!”

Doreen even met husband-to-be John at the service, and they went on to have a son, John.

“I was attending to the person in next bed and he said: ‘are you going to the dance hall tomorrow night?’ I said yes and the rest is history!”

Doreen then started working for the Department for Vaccines and Immunisation.

“My job was to encourage people to have the polio vaccine. It’s much more intense now. It’s very different today. There was no lockdown then.”

She recalls one day a very special person came through the doors for a vaccine.

“The nurse asked for his name and he said ‘Winston Churchill’. She said: ‘and I’m the Queen of Sheba, what’s your proper name’ and he said: ‘I am Winston Churchill – I’m his grandson’ – she was very red faced!”

Another passion for Doreen, who also worked as an administrator, was playing the piano. While she can no longer play because of her Multiple Sclerosis, she loves to hear her classical requests played through an amazing partnership the home has with Radio Cherwell, who regularly do live shows dedicated to the residents, filled with their playlists and messages.

For more about life at Wantage of any of our other care homes, please call our Enquiry Support Team advisors on 0800 917 0478.