Nurse Shaida Ghazala Akhtar, who retired from our Trust after 40 years in 2022, was among those invited to a special reception at Buckingham Palace to honour international nurses and midwives.

Ghazala, who continues to care for our patients by working with Trust Temps, got to meet King Charles (pictured), who hosted the event on his birthday in November.

She said: “I felt honoured to be able to introduce myself to him and wish him a happy 75^th birthday. He said he was as old as the NHS. We had a giggle and then he said we were all doing a marvellous job.

“It was an amazing experience.”

Ghazala was also one of the founders of the Pakistani Nurses and Midwives Association, set up to support nurses and midwives across the UK.