NEWLY-QUALIFIED nurses and midwives who carried out their training with Hampshire Hospitals got the chance to celebrate their achievements at a special ceremony.

Thirty nurses and midwives marked their graduation from students to qualified staff at the trust’s annual badge ceremony.

Every year, the trust presents graduates from the University of Surrey, University of Southampton, Bournemouth University and The Open University with a Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust badge that they will wear on their uniform for the rest of their career to show where they trained.

Some 28 of the graduates, who included newly-qualified and return to practice nurses and midwives, are now working at one of the trust’s three hospitals, Andover War Memorial Hospital, Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester.

Donna Green, Hampshire Hospitals’ chief nurse, hosted the event and spoke of her pride at seeing the students become fully qualified.