A nurse of 78 this weekend celebrates 60 years of walking the wards - and she has no plans to retire.
Jackie Reid was 18 when she started work in 1953 - when the National Health Service (NHS) was just five years old - and is believed to be the oldest nurse in Britain.
The diabetes(糖尿病) specialist had to retire at 65 but returned as a nurse within two weeks and still does up to four seven-and-a-half hour shifts(轮班）each week.
Mrs. Reid said: "Nursing is hard if you do it correctly but I love my job. Working for the NHS has been my life. I have no other hobbies because I have worked all my life.
Jackie has worked at a number of different hospitals--including one in Scotland.
Her specialist field has been diabetes for the past 40 years. She retrained after her 12-year-old daughter Michelle developed the disease. She currently works at Southend Hospital, Essex.
Over the last 60years she has treated tens of thousands of patients.
Jackie believes nursing should be protected from government cuts. She said: "There're lots of things I would say to the government. If you are going to get good care you have to have the resources(资源), you can't do it without enough money. They shouldn't need the cuts that there are in the NHS. It's hard now because there's a shortage of staff."
Jackie has lived alone in Grays, Essex, since her husband did three years ago.
The couple have two daughters Michelle, 50, and Karen, 54. Jackie added: "My youngest daughter worried about me - she doesn't think I should work as much as I do. I constantly say 'don't worry about me, I'm fine', but she never believes me. I don't like the thought of giving it up and will try to keep going forever."
