Wigan nurse wins holiday in sunny Portugal - and invites five colleagues to join her

Patsy Jackson donated a holiday in Portugal to the NHS as a way to recognise staff for all of their hard work.

The winner of the prize was Janet Heaton, 64, from Hawkley Hll, who decided to take along five of her colleagues from Wrightington Hospital.

The mother of three, who has retired since the draw was made, was working in the recovery department at Wrightington at the time and served the NHS for 47 years.

She was nominated for the prize by ward nurse Alison Johnson, who said: “Janet is a good nurse who has had a tough few months and deserves something nice, this would be perfect for her.”

Janet decided to invite five nurses she had worked with closely at Wrightington, and who still remain good friends, to go on holiday with her.

One of her three daughters suggested taking her former colleagues along, after her husband died in April 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic.

She also wanted to reward her colleagues as the holiday had been donated to benefit the NHS and its staff during unprecedented times.

It had to be postponed due to the pandemic, but provided the nurses with something to look forward to as they worked under extreme pressure.

Janet said: “We won the prize in 2020 around April/May time, but due to Covid-19 we had to wait to go on the holiday. It was certainly worth it though. We had a wonderful time and it gave us all a much-needed boost!”

The getaway was provided by Patsy Jackson, of Wigan Lane, who owns a holiday home named Casa Jackson in the Portuguese town of Carvoeiro, in the Algarve region.

The villa hosts six people and includes three double beds, with the group greeted by flowers and a card left for them when they arrived.

Janet said: “Nothing was too much trouble for Patsy, she was a superb host for the entire two weeks. We were greeted by a card and flowers and Patsy arranged everything for us.”