Published on: 10th September 2020
This year we’re celebrating 120 of our staff who’ve worked in the NHS for 20, 30 or 40 years. That’s an incredible combined total of 3,050 years’ service.
We caught up with a couple of them to hear about their memories, the biggest changes they’ve seen and what’s kept them in the NHS. Scroll down to see the full list of long servers.
Laura Langhorn, emotional wellbeing practitioner with Healthy Young Minds Oldham (40 years):
“When I started as a nurse, wards were silent for consultant ward rounds and nobody dared to question the doctors, matrons or ward sisters.
Thankfully there is now a much less authoritarian way of working, with more respect for each other’s skills.”
Karen Lewis, community learning disability nurse, Bury (30 years):
“The biggest change I have seen is a slow but gradual inclusion of individuals in planning their own care and future.
There has been a move away from the historical hierarchy of nursing which has allowed health practitioners and family members, who are directly involved in a person’s life, to have a voice.”
David Kerrick, healthcare assistant, Hague Ward, Tameside General Hospital (30 years):
“Working in mental health for so long can be hard work, but it’s so fulfilling and rewarding. There is no better feeling than seeing someone leave your care in a good place, mentally and physically well.”
Maria O'Brien, community mental health nurse, Stockport (20 years):
“I’m proud to be a mental health nurse and hope that the time I have spent with clients has empowered them to forge their own way towards their recoveries.
Each day is undoubtedly different and at times challenging; but I could not imagine doing anything else, it’s the best job in the world!”
40 years
Laura Langhorn Alison Tabois Tracey Smith Diane Birchall Gillian Ireland Gary Fitton Lesley Nolan Adele Sergeant
30 years
Sharon Hollis Sarah Brown Carol Sorahan Jean Sharpe Jacqueline Conheeney Derek Harding Carol Gorton Fiona Ibberson Tracey Daniels Jayne Brown Sharon Furlong Christine Binns Carol-Ann McArdle Katherine Hayden Pauline MacDonald Michele Ratcliff Katherine Reid Jacqueline Kindell Sharon Murphy Katherine Reid Karen Wright Donna Bradbury Christine Ledger David Kerrick Janine Gokcen Catherine Laverty Janine Gokcen Mark Murphy Michelle McKendrey Angela Kilduff Gaynor Mullins Donna Carr Pamela Walker Amanda Hicks Anne Beels Catherine Dickinson Judith O'Brien Tracey Clarke Sarah Burlinson Illekuttige Fernando Julie Hammond Mark Vickers Kenneth Pearce Hilary Woodbridge Adrienne Foster Nicola Meredith
20 years
Shahida Parveen Joanne Rain Julie Grumbridge Caroline McIntosh Lindsey Connolly Keith Walker Kyle Eastwood Susannah Knight Catherine Caton Rachel Lightstone Christian Johns Jennifer Hodkinson Jane Cohen Deborah Worth Kathy Phoenix Sarah Hood Jennifer Devine Maria O'Brien Jennifer Farrell Jane Mather Romaine Short Nicola Gainsborough Justin Farthing Christopher McGagh Ruth Dillnutt Henry Ticehurst Oriane Gammie Michael Hamilton Sawsan Moghazy Sara Higgins Deborah O'Leary Janet Birtles Andrea Blakley Clare Maddison Peter Wade Kate Friedmann David Brown Marie Baistow Lynne Chatterton Chiara-Blythe Talbot Susan Clarke Angela Brown Kirsty Pratt Shirley Sneddon Jacqueline McDermott Rebecca Bland Alison Lawton Martin Fitzgerald Louise Maddox Brown Catherine Jones Aisha Arshad Amanda Chancellor-Walsh Andrea Stansfield Cheryl Algie Eunice Fomuso Elizabeth Chapman Dawn Pugh Nigel Fyles Wendy Connolly Fidelma Genesis Carol Tait Robert Walker John Henstock Stephen Vieites Marie Turner Karen Lewis
