A NURSE who always went the extra mile for her patients is retiring after 40 years working in the NHS.

Gill Davis, 63, has worked at Douglas Grove Surgery in Witham for 27 of those years and has lent a kind word and a friendly face to so many patients throughout that time.

On Wednesday the surgery celebrated Gill’s time as Senior Practice Nurse with an afternoon tea and the staff took the opportunity to thank her for her dedication, care and kindness.

Gill said: “It was a hard decision to retire. I have loved working with the staff but most of all it is the families I will miss.

“I have grown as the families on the estate have grown and it has been a privilege to work here for so long."

Gill has seen a lot of changes in the NHS since she trained at the Royal College Hospital in London in 1972, but feels patient expectations have stayed the same.

She said: “There was no computerisation when I started out and there was not much technology back in the eighties when I joined Douglas Grove, now of course we are fully computerised.

“But I think at the end of the day that sort of thing does not really matter with the patients, they just want a kind word and an ear to listen.

“When I am in that room with them I felt the same as I ever did.”

The family feel that runs through Douglas Grove Surgery is what Gill feels has made it such a fantastic place to work.

She said: “I hope that would be able to carry on being a family surgery and being able to give families the right care but that is my one big concern about any proposed super surgeries.

“I think we have got 6,000 patients, you don’t know everybody but you can put a face to most names when you hear them.

“It is just a really family centred surgery and it has been a privilege working here for so long.”