Peterborough nursing duo mark 40 years service and friendship

Two long-serving members of the critical care team at an NHS trust have been honoured for an incredible four decades of dedication to patient care.

Sisters Marie Caston and Ros Rippon, who both began their careers in 1985 at Peterborough City Hospital, are being celebrated by the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust for their combined 80 years of service.

The pair first met as young trainees, living opposite each other in the nurses’ home and became close while working together in the Intensive Care Unit — a friendship which has endured.

“They’d get our names mixed up all the time and only believed there were two of us once they saw us together,” they recalled.

Reflecting on their long careers, Ms Rippon said: “The sedation, equipment, and well, everything has changed.

“The care is much more specialised, and we now have 24-hour critical care consultants, whereas before it might have been a theatre consultant. More specialist care is available now, which is better.

“Every day is different, and there is always something to smile and laugh about.”

Ms Caston agreed with that sentiment: “Patients. Patients definitely. And all of the people we have met – we’re still in touch with the staff we’ve worked with over the years.”

The nurses shared admiration for the next generation of critical care nurses and reassured them that entering the profession was worth it.

“The new nurses are amazing – they know so much and do so much work. The pressure they are under is immense,” the pair agreed.

“It can often be really difficult, and you might not love it straight away, but if you stick it out it can be incredibly rewarding.”

Ms Rippon was also involved and initiated the critical care staff garden opened recently at the hospital, offering respite and peace.