A LIFETIME'S commitment to helping the elderly and her community has been rewarded with Sandra Plasting receiving the British Empire Medal.

At a ceremony this week the former nursing matron was presented with her honour by the Lord-Lieutenant of Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale, the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry KBE, Richard Scot.

Mrs Plasting entered the nursing profession in 1967, working in a variety of NHS roles in London and Edinburgh before taking on the role of matron and manager at Queen’s House Nursing and Residential Home in Kelso where she worked until her retirement in 2016.

It was during her period of management that the original home was replaced with a new purpose built facility, opened in 2001, offering both residential and nursing care.

A further extension added four years later took the total number of beds available to 32.

Queen’s House has consistently been awarded Grade 6 – Excellent - by the Care Inspectorate across a range of categories including management and leadership, environment, staffing and overall quality of care with inspectors praising the positive outcomes being achieved for residents.

The Lord-Lieutenant said: “It is my absolute pleasure to present this award to Sandra Plasting.

"Throughout her long and distinguished career, her dedication to achieving the highest quality nursing and social care services for older people is without question, both during her time at Queen’s House and in her earlier roles within the NHS.

"It is this deep and unwavering commitment that has made such a significant contribution to the transformation of Queen’s House into the much loved and highly regarded facility that we know today and I would like to congratulate her on being the recipient of her extremely well deserved British Empire Medal.”