• A Bolton nurse is a Lifetime Achievement Award finalist at this year’s NHS Parliamentary Awards
• Jean Cummings joined the NHS in January 1964 as a Cadet Nurse
• Winners will be announced in London on Monday 14 October 2024

A nurse who has spent more than six decades caring for patients in Bolton has been shortlisted in the NHS Parliamentary Awards 2024.

Jean Cummings is a finalist in the Lifetime Achievement Award category, having started as a Cadet Nurse in January 1964 following a very formal interview in the boardroom of Bolton General Hospital, known today as Royal Bolton Hospital.

Receiving the news of her nomination, Jean said:

I am really proud that my service to the community has been acknowledged nationally.

“I’m grateful for the opportunities I have been given and to have been able to experience such an enjoyable and fulfilling career.

“I’m fortunate to work with so many skilled, knowledgeable and friendly colleagues, and I hope to contribute to our thriving research team for the foreseeable future.

Jean soon became the youngest Student Nurse of her year group and split her time between the General and the Royal Infirmary to complete placements.

After qualifying in 1968, Jean was offered the opportunity to become a Staff Nurse before taking on the role of a Sister in Neurosurgery and A&E at Salford’s hospitals in the 1980s.

In that time computers were slowly being rolled out across the NHS and by the time Jean returned to Bolton and transferred from the Royal to the new A&E at the General in 1996, technology had become a vital tool in providing care and treatment to patients.

Although Jean has looked after countless people in the past, her current work as a Clinical Research Nurse at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is helping to discover new and better ways to treat illnesses for patients well into the future.

Jean is a much-loved and highly respected member of the Bolton NHS family, and amongst some staff is affectionately nicknamed ‘Auntie Jean’.

Throughout my career it has been a privilege to be a part of people’s lives to help make a difference.

“The time has flashed by because I have had so many interest jobs, and every day is different.

Jean going forward to the final round of the awards is a particular achievement this year, with 318 MPs across England putting forward 918 nominations – a far greater number than in any previous year.

Bolton NHS Foundation is grateful to Yasmin Qureshi, Member of Parliament for Bolton South and Walkden, for nominating Jean to recognise her contribution to Bolton.

Fiona Noden, Chief Executive at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and Place Based Lead for Bolton, said:

We are all so incredibly proud of Jean and we’re thrilled to see her remarkable achievements over the past sixty years being recognised on this national stage.

“Jean embodies everything it means to work for the NHS by going above and beyond to provide excellent, personal care to every single person she meets.

“Her dedication has undoubtedly changed the lives of many people already, and her focus on research will help to try and improve health outcomes for Bolton for many more years to come.

The NHS Parliamentary Awards were created in 2018 to celebrate and recognise the outstanding contribution of staff, volunteers and others working in the health and care sector.

In the first stage of the awards, MPs nominate healthcare teams and individuals in their local area to highlight their exceptional commitment and achievements working in and with the NHS.

There are ten award categories this year which cover innovation and exceptional care right across the breadth of healthcare services.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognises individuals who has worked within a health or care setting for 40 years or more who have left a legacy, and who have given their life to the NHS to create a better service for patients.

A panel of national judges, made up of notable figures across the healthcare sector, will now come together to select the winners of this year’s awards.

These winners will be announced at the awards ceremony taking place on Monday 14 October 2024, when healthcare leaders, finalists and MPs will come together to celebrate the immense contribution which healthcare staff make to the NHS.