Staff with almost 500 years’ NHS service are celebrated at awards ceremony

17 staff who have worked in the NHS for a combined total of nearly 500 years were congratulated and thanked for their long service at an event this week.

The staff, working at the local integrated care board, have all completed at least 25 years’ service, with some achieving far longer than that.

Each recipient was presented with a certificate to recognise their achievement and to mark their commitment to patient care.

Two staff, each with a nursing background, were celebrating after having completed 40 years’ NHS service.

Helen Friend began her NHS career as a nurse.  She worked locally at both Bedford Hospital and the Luton and Dunstable Hospital, becoming head of nursing for medicine, specialist medicine and complex care across both sites.  She has also worked in clinical governance, where her job offered professional leadership to nurses and the creation of safe nursing standards and procedures.  For the last few years, Helen has worked in an education role to ensure that clinical placements and on-the-job training for student nurses, midwives and allied health professionals are of a high quality to complement their classroom-based learning.

Helen Friend said:

“Receiving this award for 40 years’ NHS service has given me a chance to reflect on my career and how far healthcare and nursing have progressed since 1985 when I first started.  I remain proud to be a nurse and am very grateful to everyone who has supported me along the way.”

Debbie Blake now works as a quality improvement nurse who advises care home staff on training and quality issues, helping to ensure that older, frailer or more vulnerable residents get the best possible care.  She began her career at Bedford Hospital in 1982, training as a state enrolled nurse and later becoming a registered general nurse.  She worked on medical wards before becoming a ward sister and later a bed manager.  On moving to Bedfordshire Community Services in 2000, Debbie became the very first Parkinson’s specialist nurse in Bedfordshire and set up a successful team to care for Parkinson’s patients.

Debbie Blake said:

“I’m delighted to receive this award.  I consider myself very fortunate to have a career that has been so fulfilling and to have had the opportunity to work alongside such wonderful, compassionate, talented colleagues.”

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

“The board was very keen to thank all of our long-serving staff for their combined centuries of NHS service.  In total we marked almost 500 years of NHS service at our event.  It’s been great to celebrate everyone’s achievements.

“As part of our event, we looked at how much had changed over the 40 years since Helen and Debbie started their careers.  1985 saw the end of the miners’ strike, Live Aid, the Sinclair C5 and the first episode of EastEnders!

“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 to see so many years of service recognised.”

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

• 25 years’ service: 10
• 30 years’ service: 3
• 35 years’ service: 2
• 40 years’ service: 2