11/06/2026
A telecommunications engineer who has kept James Paget staff in touch with each other - and the wider world - is ringing off after nearly three decades at our hospital.
Kevin Mason has become a familiar face in the hospital, visiting wards and departments across the site to maintain the telephony systems, which include thousands of extensions, handsets and miles of cables and wiring
But this week, he completed his final tasks before retiring after a career which started in the 1970s, working for the General Post Office (GPO).
Initially, Kevin was based in Ipswich but in 1978 moved to the GPO’s Great Yarmouth operation - and then later joining telecommunications specialists BJ Communications, also based in the town.
It was while working for the company in 1996 that Kevin first set foot in the James Paget, when the business was contracted to work on the hospital’s phone systems.
Then, two years later, Kevin joined the estates team at the Paget, where he has worked ever since.
“I have absolutely loved working at the Paget,” said Kevin. “You feel that you are not just working for the team at the hospital, but the wider community too, and that means you always want to give 100%”
During his time at the hospital, Kevin worked on a number of major telephone upgrades, including a switch to an entirely new system in 2020, involving 2200 extensions and 3500 phones.
He has overseen the installation of telephony systems in all the new buildings added to the hospital’s estate over the years, including most recently our new Community Diagnostic Centres and Orthopaedic Centre.
Kevin also played a key role in perhaps the most dramatic major incident to affect the hospital – the lightning strike of November 2014, which resulted in the temporary loss of more than 900 extensions.
“It really was a bolt from the blue!” said Kevin. “I can remember that I worked throughout the day and night, to help restore our lines. It was a real challenge and it took weeks to get the lines fully restored but great teamwork saw us through.”
Now the 68-year-old, who lives in Oulton Broad, is aiming for a quieter life as he heads into retirement.
“I’m looking forward to having a rest!” he said. “But then I have got plenty to do at home, and am planning to do some travelling too.”
“I will miss all the staff I have worked with over the years. We really are like a big family at the Paget – and the teams I have worked with, including estates and IT, have been brilliant,” he added.
