A DEDICATED receptionist has been honoured for 48 years service to the NHS – but she’s not finished yet.
Pam Hinks was presented with a lifetime achievement award by Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS.
But the 72 year-old, who has spent her entire career working for Avonside Health Centre in Warwick, is determined to clock up her half century.
Pam said: “I was delighted to receive a lifetime achievement award from Matt Western MP for 48 years worth of service at Avonside Health Centre.
“I’m so grateful to the patients that nominated me. I love my job and have every intention of making it to 50 years’ service.”
The mum-of-two started work at Park Street and Emscote Road in April 1970, and her only move came about when the two surgeries combined to become Avonside Health Centre on Portabello Way in 2009.
But it could have been a very different story for Pam, who with husband John has also been dedicated for decades to the Scouting movement in Warwick.
“I was always going to be a nurse but then I met John, and he asked me to marry him so my plans changed,” she joked.
“I don’t regret it at all – I’m very much a people person and I think that helps in this job.
“In such a busy practice, compassion is key and I always say – ‘If you haven’t got a smile, have one of mine!’”
