AIREDALE Hospital staff with a massive 900-plus-years' service between them have received recognition.

Awards were presented to 34 NHS Foundation Trust employees, who have each clocked-up at least a quarter of a century of continuous employment with the Steeton hospital.

The accolades were handed out by trust chief executive, Brendan Brown, at a special celebratory lunch.

Guests included chairman Andrew Gold and other members of the board of directors.

Among those to be honoured was community staff nurse Maggie Hanson, who has worked at the hospital for more than 40 years.

"I trained as a nurse in Bradford then started working at Airedale in 1977," she said.

"I worked with elderly patients before moving on to orthopaedics. I then worked on our private patients' ward and finally our women’s health ward, where we dealt with breast care and gynaecology.

"In 2004 we started the district nursing night team, and I was among those working out in the community across the Craven district. That community team is still active today, and I’ve spent the past seven years on days.

"My favourite part of nursing now is teaching the younger generation.

"It’s great to see all the new methods that are coming into nursing practice, and to be able to share this with students is brilliant."

Other award winners include Dean Harness, an operating department practitioner (ODP).

He joined the trust in 1990 as a trainee health care support worker.

Leaving school at 17, he enrolled onto the vocational training scheme and qualified as an ODP in 2003.

"I like the variety of my job," he said.

"One day you can be helping with a hip replacement, the next bringing life into the world during a C-section or trying to save a life on a crash call and then in the back of an ambulance on blue lights transferring critically-ill patients to another hospital. No two days are the same!"

He added: "Airedale is not too big and not too small – you get to know people from other areas of the hospital, which gives it a nice family feel.

"There are lots of staff members who have worked here for a long time, and that speaks volumes to me."

Tribute is paid to all the staff by Nick Parker, the trust's director of human resources and workforce.

"It’s important for us to recognise the dedication of our people and to mark this important milestone in their long service," he said.

"Our people are what make Airedale Hospital special and are our biggest asset. We can only provide great care if we have committed, skilled people like these working at the trust.

"We are very grateful for their commitment to providing outstanding care for our population."