HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to an ‘extraordinary’ nurse who died at the very hospice she was instrumental in helping to establish.

Dorothy Attwood died on January 11 at the age of 67 at St Michael’s Hospice, after a battle with mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos.

Mrs Attwood worked as a nurse for the majority of her life in accident and emergency departments and intensive care units at various hospitals.

But it was her career in palliative care where she made a lasting impression.

She was one of the leading nurses at the Aldermaston Road facility for 23 years, having joined not long after it opened.

Dr Hugh Freeman, one of the hospice’s founders, worked closely with Mrs Attwood during her time at St Michael’s.

He said: “She was totally dependable and for Dorothy the patient always came first.

“We worked very much as a team in the early days of the hospice and the support she gave me is something I would never forget.

“She has left her legacy with the whole community.”

Since her death, Mrs Attwood’s family have been inundated with cards and letters of sympathy from people saying what an impact she had on their lives.

For many, it was her influence in training the next generation of nurses that they remember, with one card reading: “I knew she was someone extraordinary.”

Mrs Attwood moved into the hospice as a patient as she said she wanted to move to there so she could be surrounded by her friends.

Chief executive of St Michael’s, David Monkman, said staff and volunteers were deeply saddened.

“My overpowering memory of Dorothy was that of a highly skilled nurse who put the patient and their families at the centre of everything she did.

“Our thoughts are with her family at this very difficult time.”

Her funeral will be held at Pamber Heath Gospel Hall, in Pamber Heath Road, Tadley, on January 30, at 10.30am.