HEALTH professionals in Helensburgh have said their fond farewells to a colleague who retired recently after 40 years of service with the NHS – the last 12 of them spent in Helensburgh and Lomond.

Health visitor specialist Caron Beveridge ended her career in Helensburgh last year, bowing out as leader of the children and families health visitor team with Argyll and Bute’s health and social care partnership (HSCP) after a career which saw her work in areas as far afield as Aberdeen and south Wales.

Caron, who qualified as a registered general nurse (RGN) in 1978, gained a BSc (Hons) in community health studies from the University of Wales in 2001.

She started working in Helensburgh and Lomond in 2006, joining what was then the Argyll and Bute community health partnership (CHP) as a health visitor at Dr Brian McLachlan’s practice in Helensburgh, before becoming the children and families health visitor team leader in 2014.

The role saw her lead a team of health visitor professionals across the Helensburgh and Lomond area, delivering high standards of care within home, community and clinical settings.

Caron said: “It has been a journey full of ups and downs and challenges but a role that has been very rewarding.

“I had an amazing team who have grown and developed over time. It’s been my pleasure to have had the opportunity to lead and develop all of the health visiting team.”

Caron’s retirement plans include spending more time with family and friends, working in her garden, relaxing with a good book or three, and getting started on the long list of places she and her husband hope to visit.

One of her colleagues said of Caron: “She has been a lovely team leader – very supportive, approachable and was always keen to listen to both her team and families.

“She was always very hardworking and conscientious in all she did.

“Caron is still very much an inspiration to us all. None of us will ever forget the dedication and extra mile she went for the service and her team.

“She was often overheard saying ‘my team are like my family’. We all miss her friendly and outgoing presence.”