'I still love nursing after 52 years in the job'

Marian Bottjer has worked in paediatrics at Basildon Hospital for the past 35 years

A nurse marking 52 years in the job said she was now treating the grandchildren of babies for which she once cared.

Marian Bottjer began her NHS career in 1972, aged 18, and has spent the past 35 years working at Basildon Hospital in Essex.

The now 70-year-old, from Wickford, Essex, has foregone more senior roles due to her love of working with families on the children's ward.

"I love it and I still have the same passion for it as when I started," Ms Bottjer told BBC Essex.

The mother-of-three began as an auxiliary nurse at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, before moving to St John's Hospital in 1981 and then Basildon eight years later.

Ms Bottjer joined the NHS as an 18-year-old in 1972

Ms Bottjer said she was in "a very privileged position" to support families through their best and most vulnerable moments.

"It's the most wonderful, wonderful profession," she said.

"The tragedies that we've been through with parents, they're the ones that inspire me and who I feel very humbled by.

"We have wonderful times when we see children recover, so it's an odd mix sometimes, but it's always a privilege to be part of the journey."

The nurse said throughout her extensive career, advances in technology and a more inclusive team environment had been some of the biggest changes.

She said the hospital's response to the Covid pandemic exemplified the team spirit felt among staff.

"I still love it and would recommend it to anybody," Ms Bottjer says

"It was a real team effort, it didn’t matter what you were - we all worked together and it did bring out an amazing teamwork."

Ms Bottjer added that parents would often say she had looked after them when they were young.

"It's just bizarre, I don't feel that it has been 52 years, I really don't. I sometimes reflect back and think 'Did I really go through that?'," she said.

"I still love it and would recommend it to anybody."