THE high standard of nursing cadets came under the spotlight at an awards ceremony.

Cadets studying at colleges and working at East Lancashire Hospitals Trust have been honoured at the annual Cadet Awards at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital.

Cadets Ruby Hitchen (Blackburn College), Chelsea Eyre (Nelson & Colne College) and Chloe Patefield (Burnley College) each received ‘Special Merit Awards’ from the trust’s director of nursing Christine Pearson.

And to cap off the ceremony, Emily Speirs from Burnley College was named the overall ‘Cadet of the Year’.

Linda Whitfield, head of workforce learning and development at the trust said: “We are delighted to partner with Blackburn, Nelson and Colne and Burnley colleges to provide placements and support for East Lancashire’s healthcare assistants and nurses of the future."

Some 41 nursing cadets from Blackburn College, Burnley College and Nelson and Colne College were invited on stage to receive Certificates of Distinction.

Eight Cadet Mentors were also recognised with the ‘Mentor of the Year’ award going to healthcare assistants Zena Russell and Glenys Barton.

After successfully completing the programme, the cadets will go on to their next challenges – which include going to university as student nurses and student paramedics.