CREDITON Hospital has been here for nearly 40 years. Maggie Waltho has worked there for more than half that time - 23 years. She retired last week.

Maggie started work as a Ward Clerk on Kirton Ward with Exeter and District Community Health Service, which had built the hospital.

She retired as Community Business Manager for Mid Devon covering Crediton, Moretonhampstead, Okehampton, Tiverton and Cullompton Hospitals, working for Northern Devon Health Care Trust.

In October, Crediton Hospital will transfer to the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust.

Maggie has worked for five different Trusts running the hospital on Western Road, seen a lot of changes and said she had been TUPE’d five times. TUPE protects employment rights when a person transfers from one business to another.

Maggie came to Crediton having worked for a pharmaceutical company from University. Here she opened Crediton’s first whole food shop, Aduki.

She moved to Penstone and when the youngest of her three children was ready to begin school, she began working at Crediton Hospital.

Latterly, Maggie worked with both the Health and the Social Care Community teams, mainly looking at business processes, accommodation, new ways of working and she managed some of the administration staff who work in those teams across Devon.

With one day off a week, working from home on another, Maggie would work from one of the five bases in Mid Devon on the other three days. She has recently worked on the Community Nursing Referral Pathway, looking at using technology for nursing teams to receive referrals from GPs, the R D and E and Community Hospitals,

She has set up workshops, has worked on emergency preparation with her latest project being to work on development of Health and Well-being Hubs at Crediton and Moretonhampstead.

On her last day at work, among the gifts she received was a pale pink rose, a huge bouquet of flowers, a big card signed by staff, a cake with a photograph of Lundy on top, plus an orchid, a box of Earl Grey tea and a cup and saucer for the tea.

Maggie and her husband Mick enjoy holidays and short breaks on islands - especially Lundy which they visit every year and are members of the Lundy Field Society.

They walk the South West Coast Path on holidays and Maggie plans to walk the whole route, all 630 miles.

They also see quite a lot of their four grandchildren and Maggie helps her father, who is 90, and lives in Exeter.

Sue Read