A JOHNSTONE nurse has been honoured for decades of service to Renfrewshire communities.

Sheena Ferguson, 59, was awarded the Community Nursing Award for Long Service by the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland last month, in recognition of a career spanning more than 40 years.

The gran-of-three said she was pleasantly surprised to be handed the prestigious award by colleagues at Riverview Medical Centre during a tea break.

“I was in the middle of eating a sandwich, so as you can imagine, it was a bit of a shock,” she told The Gazette.

“One of the doctors had apparently applied for it on my behalf and I didn’t know anything about it until they presented it to me.

“I feel very lucky because Riverview is a fantastic place to work. I’m supported so well by all the staff at the surgery and I love meeting my patients.

“There is great camaraderie among the whole team, especially during the Covid pandemic, and we all do our best for the patients.”

Sheena, from Erskine, started as a district nurse at Riverview Medical Centre in 2000 before going on to become a practice sister at the Johnstone surgery two years later.

She began her career in nursing straight out of school, aged 17, and was motivated to help others after her dad was injured in a car crash when she was 13.

Sheena said: “My dad spent three months in hospital and I spent time with him when he was in orthopaedics.

“That snatched my interest from the start and I would go on to initially specialise in orthopaedics and spinal injuries.

“These days, I especially enjoy looking after older people, as they have got so much to teach the younger generations.

“For me, it’s important to pay them back for all they have done for us.”
Hard-working Sheena also revealed she has no plans to hang up her stethoscope any time soon.

“Riverview is such a lovely place to work,” she added.

“Otherwise, I would likely have moved on by now.

“I’ll keep going for as long as I can, especially when we’re in the middle of a pandemic.

“We are now getting ready to vaccinate the over-80s, so there are exciting times ahead.”