Staff at Airedale Hospital have won national and international recognition for the quality of their work.

Nurse Jane Pearce has been awarded a certificate from the Multiple Sclerosis Nurses International Certification Board, while Nona Toothill, Airedale’s urology specialist, has been shortlisted for a national nursing award.

Mrs Pearce, 50, of Haworth, gained her certificate after passing a stringent exam for all nurses worldwide who provide MS care.

Only nine people each year sit the exam, which is part-funded by the International Organisation of MS Nurses and the UK Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Nurses Association.

Mrs Pearce, who has been an MS specialist nurse for eight years, said: “This highly-valued qualification has allowed me to improve my practice, increase my knowledge and encouraged me to develop both personally and professional expertise in my field which will ultimately benefit my patients.”

Mrs Toothill, 45, of Cowling, is one of three people in the country competing for the Urology Nurse of the Year category of the British Journal of Nursing Awards 2014.