Two Nurses who have worked for more than 100 years for the NHS between them, have been honoured at a special celebration event, held by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL).
Janet Davenport, Practice Development Lead for District Nursing, and Anne Ollerton, Diabetes Specialist Nurse Manager, were both presented with Lifetime Achievement awards at the International Day of the Nurse and Midwife Event at Wigan and Leigh College on Friday 15th May.
The celebration event was opened by Kev Parker-Evans, WWL’s Chief Nursing Officer, to celebrate WWL’s staff and their dedication to its patients, the community, and their professions. Janet has worked for the NHS for almost 52 years, since starting as a cadet nurse at WWL at the age of 16, while Anne joined the NHS as a cadet nurse in 1972, with 54 years of nursing experience at WWL.
Janet (pictured above) said: “I was pleasantly surprised, humbled, and genuinely honoured to be the recipient of the lifetime achievement award at WWL, and on my 68th birthday! I have enjoyed working in the Wigan borough every day of my nursing career and believe it to be an honour and a privilege to be a nurse and District Nurse (DN) Practice Development Lead in the DN service. I value my peers, colleagues, and friends support – those within both the Acute and Community sites. I value working alongside all Community colleagues to improve and benefit patient care.”
Anne (pictured above) said: “'It was an honour to receive the award, especially being among so many other worthy winners. I can honestly say I have enjoyed every day of my working life at WWL. For the last 38 years, I have worked as a Diabetes Specialist Nurse Manager in a very busy unit, surrounded by an excellent team where we all work together, no matter what grade of staff, to improve the patient journey. I feel very lucky to work with this team at WWL.”
Kev Parker-Evans, WWL’s Chief Nursing Officer, said: “To celebrate the dedication that both Janet and Anne have shown to WWL, and to the NHS, is the least we can do – especially when they have worked for more than 100 years between them. I’m so proud to be part of an organisation where staff choose to stay for such a long period of time, and Janet and Anne are prime examples of why these celebration events are so important.”
Other awards and certificates were handed out to individuals on the day by special guest Bridget Lees, Deputy Regional Chief Nursing Officer, including:
- Karen Downs Innovation Award: Joanne McAllister, Head of Patient Experience and Engagement
- Global Majority Nurse/Midwife of the Year: Lijo Abraham, Staff Nurse, Neonatal
- Midwife Going Above and Beyond: Joanne Kilbride, Community Midwife
- Nurse Going Above and Beyond: Reuben Matanga, Charge Nurse, Intensive Care Unit
- Learner of the Year: Heather Clegg, Student Nurse
- Leader of the Year: Nicola Dawber, Ward Manager, Jean Heyes Reablement Unit
- Chief Nursing Officer Award: Samantha Barnsley, Bereavement Midwife
- Pauline Jones Nurse Leadership Award: Heather Dineley, Rainbow Ward Matron, Child Health
- Patient Safety Excellence Award: Chloe Mowat, Resuscitation and Trauma Lead Nurse
Kev added: “This event is truly special every single year, and reflects the pride, compassion and commitment at the heart of our organisation, and every one of our Nurses and Midwives. Without them, we simply would not be able to do what we do for the community of Wigan, and I am so proud of them all. Thank you to all of our Nurses and Midwives for everything they do for our patients and each other, and I hope they enjoyed our celebration event!”
The event was a special celebration for our Nursing and Midwifery staff at WWL, to mark both International Day of the Midwife (Tuesday 5th May) and International Nurses Day (Tuesday 12th May) and included a performance from Daisy Chacko, Registered Nurse at WWL, who recited a poem she had written, called “A Nurse’s Promise” – chosen as the winning entry from a Trust-wide campaign.
Stephanie Lawrence, Chief Executive of Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing, and Graham Prestwich, Motivational Speaker, were guest speakers at the event, before staff members shared their own journeys to becoming qualified practitioners and showcased special initiatives they’ve launched to improve the care and experience for patients.