Liz celebrates retirement after incredible 46 year career serving NHS in Burton
An Intensive Care Nurse who dedicated her career to caring for patients in Burton-upon-Trent has retired after nearly 50 years of service in the NHS.
Registered Nurse Liz Hallam (far right of the picture) began training in May 1977 at the former General Hospital in Burton and worked in the town for the rest of her 46-year career.
Liz's father was in the Royal Air Force and so she moved around the country a lot in her younger years. After finishing his career, Liz's father and the rest of her family moved to Lichfield, at which point she moved to Burton-upon-Trent to pursue her own career in the NHS.
Reflecting on her career, Liz said: "After I had finished my training, I went straight into working on a surgical ward which had a single bay which was what was then the intensive care (ICU) area. We would all rotate and do as many shifts in there as we could to gain experience of working in ICU.
"When Queen's Hospital Burton opened in 1994, we were one of the first units to move here from the old General Hospital site, and I've been working here ever since."
Mother-of-three Liz has seen a lot of change over the years, in both personnel and the hospital itself, but has always remained sure of her choice to become a nurse - despite starting out on a very different path:
"I originally started off as a temp in a secretarial role, but I knew I really wanted to become a nurse. The day I qualified as a Registered Nurse, I was just happy and I've always been happy since. I could have progressed and gone further in my career but I have always been really happy where I am."
Yesterday (14 February), surrounded by her friends and colleagues, Liz worked her final shift before embarking on her next chapter in life.
She said: "I haven't really got any plans that are set in stone, I just want to spend some time with my family and do lots of gardening - but I am already struggling to come to terms with the fact that I won't be seeing my colleagues every day.
"They are like a second family to me, so much so that I retired and returned a few years ago! I loved working with them so much, I decided to come back as they are such a fantastic team. I also still keep in touch with lots of former colleagues too which is lovely."
"I have probably spent more time with them than with my family over the years, so I will really miss them."