Dedicated NHS worker, Joan Irwin, is celebrating a remarkable 55-years of service at a Carlisle GP practice.

The 72-year-old first started her career when the NHS was only 20 years old.

Harold Wilson was Prime Minister and the Beatles dominated the charts with Hey Jude.

Joan joined Brunswick House surgery as a receptionist in 1968, and has since helped generations of patients to access healthcare at what is now South Carlisle Health Care, in Locke Road.

Joan said: "Work has always been an extension of my family and I've worked with some lovely people over the years.

"I have always had job satisfaction and enjoy helping people in general. I will always give a massive thumbs up for the NHS and I hope we have it for many more years to come. I'd urge anyone to look into a career in the NHS."

Throughout her 55-year career, Joan has witnessed several landmark improvements in national health care, including longer life expectancy, a significant decrease in infectious diseases, and a considerable positive shift in survival rates for life-threatening illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.

After attending Upperby Primary School and then Currock Girls’ School, Joan initially wanted to train as a hairdresser.

“I always wanted to be a hairdresser but never got round to training for some reason,” recalled Joan, who has a daughter, a son and four grandchildren. “Then I worked for a pharmacist for about a year before seeing an advert for a doctors’ receptionist."

Ed Tallis, local director for the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, was just two when Joan came onboard in 1968.

He said: "Joan is an absolute credit to the surgery, the NHS and herself. I'd like to personally extend a big thank you from myself and the local community for Joan's incredible loyalty and hard work for us all.

"This year we are marking the NHS's 75th birthday and there are many incredible achievements we have seen in that time. It's wonderful to think that Joan has been supporting patients for all but 20 of those years!"

When Joan started, Brunswick House was a small operation.

Clinical director Dr Robert Westgate said: "Joan is loyal, kind and honest, and very well-liked by both colleagues and patients. I've only worked with Joan since 2001, and even in that time, there has been so much change.

"When Joan first started work, there were four GPs, 5,000 patients and no appointment system at the surgery. Patients would form a queue and wait in turn to be seen.

"Now there are 38,000 patients and three purpose-built sites across the city. There are 16 full-time equivalent GPs, a large team of nurses and other health professionals, and a dedicated back office."

Despite the ever-increasing demands of a much larger patient base and added challenges, Joan is far from thinking about retirement.

She said: "I'm not ready to retire yet and will know when it is time. I think I might get a bit bored if I was at home all the time!”