A MUCH-LOVED Ardrossan midwife is celebrating winning a top health award for services to women and children.

Geraldine Butcher has worked in maternity units in Ayrshire and Arran Health Board since 1983 – first as a Staff Nurse then from 1986 as a Midwife, and is the Consultant Midwife for NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

She was born Geraldine Craig in Coatbridge in 1960 and moved to Ardrossan when she was four years old and later attended St Andrew’s Secondary School.

She moved to Greenock to undertake her nurse training at Inverclyde Hospital returning to Ayrshire to work in the Maternity Unit at Ayrshire Central.

As a Community Midwife she worked around North Ayrshire before becoming Practice Development Manager and, more recently, the Consultant Midwife for NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

While working she studied firstly for a BSc in Biology, then a Masters in Midwifery and is now researching a PhD.

Geraldine is married to John Butcher – also of Ardrossan – who is a well-respected Mental Health Nurse in his own right.

Together they have raised three children and have one grandchild – who she delivered personally.

Geraldine is very active in the community and was a lecturer and Youth Leader for the British Red Cross in Kilwinning and is now an active member of St Peter’s RC Church and a Children’s Liturgy worker.

Typically modest, she didn’t tell anyone about her nomination until after the awards and her response to congratulations was: “I’m blessed to have great support from family and friends.” Proud daughter Elissa said of her: “She is my favourite person and the biggest inspiration in my life along with my dad.

“During my own nurse training I couldn’t go into any clinical area without people telling me how they had been trained, worked with, been cared for or had family members cared for by one or other of my parents and always had the very best to say about both of them “When I had my own son, Struan, she delivered him and I met many more women who she had helped during pregnancy and labour to have the best experience they could have.”