Staff with 1,500 years of NHS service are celebrated at awards ceremony

NHS workers in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes have been thanked and celebrated for more than 1,500 years of dedication to their careers at a long-service awards ceremony earlier this week (Tuesday 24 September).

51 members of staff at the local integrated care board (ICB) were congratulated on achieving the milestone of at least 25 years’ service, with some achieving far longer than that.

Each Award recipient was presented with a certificate in recognition of their continuing dedication and commitment.

Five staff – all with nursing backgrounds – were marking over 40 years’ NHS service, and three of them were able to attend in person to collect their awards and the congratulations of the many colleagues who had gathered for a day of celebration.

Megan Brown has worked as a nurse in the ICB’s continuing healthcare team since 2019.  She began her training at Charing Cross Hospital in London in 1979 and has worked in the NHS for almost all of the time since, initially in trauma and orthopaedics, before providing telephone assessments for NHS Direct, NHS 111 and the ambulance service.  Megan said:

“I’ve enjoyed a varied career and am grateful for the many opportunities I’ve been given.  I appreciate the recognition of my NHS service, though it does make me feel old!”

Janet Thornley has also enjoyed a portfolio nursing career, starting her training at Manchester Royal Infirmary in 1982.  She subsequently also qualified as a midwife, later becoming a practice nurse, and currently works as the ICB’s strategic primary care nursing lead, based in the local training hub which provides training and development opportunities for local nurses.  Janet said:

“I am thrilled to have received a long service award.  October 1982 seems like a lifetime ago and I have seen so many changes across the NHS since then.  I knew from the age of four that nursing was the career for me, but never dreamed it would be as rewarding and fulfilling as it has been.”

Nicky Poulain worked as a midwife and a practice nurse after beginning her training at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, in 1983.  She subsequently moved into management roles and is now the ICB’s director of primary care services.  Nicky said:

“I first joined the NHS when it was celebrating its 35th birthday, and this year marked its 76th.  It’s fair to say my NHS journey has been a marathon, not a sprint, but I have enjoyed working with so many dedicated and hard-working people.”

The other two recipients – Glenda Cox and Gill Grant – were unable to attend the ceremony.

Felicity Cox, chief executive officer of Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board, said:

“On behalf of the Board and myself, I want to thank all of our long-serving staff for their decades of service.  In total we marked over 1,500 years of NHS service at our ceremony.  It’s been great to celebrate everyone’s achievements.

“As part of our event, we looked at how the world had changed since our longest-serving staff took their first steps in the NHS.  It’s hard to believe that when some of them started their working lives, the Sex Pistols had only just split up, we’d never heard of Lady Diana, and the shopping centre in Central Milton Keynes was brand new!

“What the NHS does every single day is pretty extraordinary.  It has been a privilege to work with so many great individuals and teams in the NHS, and it was a humbling experience to see so many years of service recognised.”

The number of awards made at the event was as follows:

• 25 years’ service: 27
• 30 years’ service: 12
• 35 years’ service: 7
• 40 years’ service: 5