A Cardiac Nurse from Fermanagh is retiring after 40 years of service to healthcare in County Tyrone.

Sandra Edgar, who is originally from Letterbreen but has made her home in Omagh, is retiring as Cardiac Nurse from the Cardiac Assessment Unit at Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex.

Those leading tribute to Sandra on her retirement included Dr. Paul McGlinchey, Consultant Cardiologist at Omagh Hospital.

Dr. McGlinchey said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to formally comment upon the retirement of a very special nurse, Sandra.

“I first met Sandra in February, 1998, when I was a junior doctor rotating through various hospitals in Northern Ireland.

“I was attached to Tyrone County hospital for six months and I met Sandra, who was a staff nurse, in Ward 12 Medical, which was the ward catering for patients with cardiac conditions.

“Sandra, as well as many of her colleagues, stood out to me even at that point of my career, as being a person and professional of the highest quality.

“She performed her nursing duties to a really high standard, and it was evident that she and the other nurses were already embracing an extended role for nurses beyond the traditional remit – a sign not only of their professional qualities, but also of a desire to provide the best possible care for the patients that they met.”

Dr. McGlinchey continued: “Sandra was always very friendly and personable. She was someone who added to your day, made it better.

“She saw her colleagues as her friends and was central in organising social gatherings.

“Unsurprisingly, she has a wide circle of very good, loyal friends. Although originally from Fermanagh, she was always committed to the Omagh area.

“She and her colleagues had to accept the changes in healthcare provision in the Omagh area in 2009 with the loss of acute services in Tyrone County Hospital, but dealt with this proactively by taking on a role as a lead nurse within the newly formed Cardiac Assessment Unit – a role that she has performed subsequently until the present day.

“There are many healthcare professionals who have benefited from knowing and working with Sandra, but there are many, many, many more patients of the Tyrone County Hospital and then Omagh Hospital who have their lives and their health due to the professionalism of Sandra Edgar – this all done quietly, confidently and efficiently.”

Sandra will look forward to spending time in her retirement with her husband, Davy, as well as her three grown-up children – Ryan, Amy, and Katy – and enjoying the role of ‘Granny Sandra’ to her one-year-old grandson, Joey.