OBE honour for Northumbria Healthcare's top nurse

Marion Dickson, from the Berwick area, was awarded an OBE for her on-going contribution to the health service.

She is currently the executive director for nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals, and executive director for surgery and community services.

She is also the trust’s executive lead for emergency preparedness, resilience and response, and acts as the accountable emergency officer.

Marion began her nursing career in 1974, firstly as an auxiliary nurse at her local hospital in Duns prior to her general nurse training at the Western General in Edinburgh.

She was a staff nurse and ward manager at Berwick Infirmary for several years, before going back to Edinburgh in 1988 to do community nursing studies specialising in health visiting, and worked for several years in north Northumberland before taking up a junior management role in 1999.

Marion said: “During my time at Berwick Infirmary, there were a lot of local people working there and we had a nice community spirit on the wards.

“Adding to that was getting to work with excellent consultants coming to the hospital and the daily service from local GPs – for example, they helped with our anaesthetic workload – and we also worked closely with the community nurses and ambulance service.

“There have been many changes over the years, but the camaraderie at Berwick Infirmary has continued and the team are looking forward to the new hospital opening.”

Since then, Marion has worked in various positions throughout the trust both in the hospital, community and practice settings – initially at operational services manager level, then general manager and as deputy director.

She added: “I have worked with many fantastic teams over the years and I like giving back by providing staff with opportunities to develop their careers.”

Marion is currently working on the major project to open a new community hospital in Berwick.

A Northumbria Healthcare spokesperson said: “Everyone at the trust offers huge congratulations to Marion on this remarkable achievement.”