“I HAVE literally enjoyed every minute of my 40 years,” said a nurse who has just marked four whole decades of caring for the town’s residents.

Margaret Grady always knew that she wanted to be a nurse when she grew up after being inspired by family members who were in the industry.

So in August 1983, she enrolled at Warrington Hospital’s School of Nursing.

Margaret, from Woolston, has taken on various roles throughout her career, but for the last 17 years, she has been a community matron at Bridgewater NHS Foundation Trust.

Here, her job is to visit and support people in their homes so that they don’t need to go into hospital.

And even after 40 years of nursing, Margaret still enjoys every second of the job.

The 58-year-old said: “Honestly it is the most interesting job you could ever ask to do.

“No day is ever the same.

“Every day there is something new in nursing – either it is medication or it’s a new disease or illness that you have never heard of.

“I have literally enjoyed every minute of my 40 years.

“You often feel like if you enjoy your job then you’ve never really worked a day in your life, and that is how I feel.

“You are blessed if you can find an occupation like that.”

Warrington Guardian:

There have been many highlights in Margaret’s career – both highs and lows.

These include working on the day of the horrendous Warrington Bombing, being made a Queen’s Nurse, and being invited to The Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.

There have also been many changes throughout her 40-year career, notably the switch from paper to electronic records and prescribing and the shift from training being carried out at the hospital itself to university now.

And when enrolling in 1983, 18-year-old Margaret would never have expected to work through a pandemic.

But this only made Margaret appreciate the job more.

She told the Warrington Guardian: “To be honest, as a nurse we were quite fortunate because we were out at work every day.

Warrington Guardian: Margaret and the cohort celebrating

“Our patients kept needing us and you know, we got PPE, we got in our cars and we carried on doing our daily work like we did every day before and every day since.

“You know, we weren’t stuck at home or sat at home, it kept us busy and occupied. It was a good thing.

“A lot of our patients needed us because they were quite lonely and there were times when we would just have to help them with quite basic tasks because they had no one to get milk for them and they didn’t want to go out.

“It was quite minor things really, but they never stopped needing us and needing our visits.”

Margaret now works two days a week but she has no plans to retire.

“I keep saying, I’ll be there till I am 80 now.”

She celebrated her incredible 40 years with the cohort she started with back in 1983 – reminiscing with old photographs and cake.