A nurse who has worked in Bury for more than two decades has been celebrated by the NHS in the North West to mark International Nurses’ Day, which falls today Sunday.

It commemorates the birth in 1820 of Florence Nightingale, the foundational philosopher of modern nursing.

Christine Verity, 74, is a health visitor with Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust who marked her 50 years with the NHS just last year.

She has worked in Bury community services in health visiting since 1998.

Prior to becoming a health visitor, she underwent training as a nurse and spent several years in Lincolnshire and Blackburn as an enrolled nurse and then staff nurse.

Encouraged by a colleague, Ms Verity became a health visitor, which then led to a career working in Bury.

To mark 50 years in nursing, she was awarded the Edith Cavell Award (a national award given to NHS staff who show exceptional care).

Ms Verity said: “I was stunned and so proud to have been awarded this prestigious award.

"I thank every one of the very wonderful, challenging, and caring people who have played a significant part and made my life, so meaningful over the last 50 years, more than half of these years in Bury.”

“We in the Northern Care Alliance offer the community the very best service available.

“We strive to, and succeed in, offering the best services we can to meet the identified needs of the children and families.”

Aside from her work in the North West, she has also volunteered to travel twice to The Gambia in West Africa to develop a medical centre at a village school where health services are limited and costly.

She said: “Our first session was attended by dozens of people, who, although we initially thought were bringing children to school, were in fact a long queue of people waiting for the nurses to arrive. We met several interesting cases and people.”

Jackie Hanson, regional chief nurse at NHS North West, said: “International Nurses’ Day is always a special day for nurses and an opportunity for us to celebrate the outstanding care our nursing staff delivery every day, not just in the North West but across the NHS.

“Nurses are caring and compassionate people who put patients first.”