A WOMAN from Dyserth who was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 New Year’s Honours will receive her award next week.
Sharon Manning, 67, will attend Windsor Castle on April 9, along with her husband, son and daughter, for her investiture.
She was appointed a MBE for “services to cancer patient care”, having worked as a cancer nurse specialist for Macmillan at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan until her retirement in late 2022.
Originally from Lancashire, Sharon worked for the NHS in Wales for more than 30 years, and said that being told of her MBE left her “very tearful”.
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Sharon said: “I was asked by someone from the Cabinet Office in November: ‘How does Sharon Manning MBE sound?’ - I thought: ‘It’s got to be a scam, this!’
“We didn’t believe it, so we didn’t tell anybody until it appeared in The Gazette on December 30.
“I was very tearful; I thought about all of the beautiful ladies who I’ve looked after, and their families. That’s who this award is dedicated to; I wouldn’t be anything with them.”
Sharon started working at Glan Clwyd in 1989, initially as a cleaner before working on it paediatric ward for seven years.
Sharon had left school aged 15 with no qualifications, and worked as a window dresser prior to becoming a mother.
In the early 2000s, she studied nursing at Bangor University as a mature student, and after specialising as an oncology nurse, Sharon pioneered a new service for ovarian cancer patients.
Ovarian cancer patients, while in the palliative stage of their disease, can suffer from malignant ascites - a painful build-up of fluid in the lining of the abdomen.
This can often lead to needing multiple drainages and hospital visits, so Sharon set about looking for a permanent drain and discovered a “Rocket Drain”.
Through this, patients can have ascitic fluid drained from their abdomen at home, reducing the number of hospital visits and enhances the palliative or final stages of their life, giving them more quality time with their loved ones.
The procedure is now available across the three Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board hospitals in North Wales.
Previously, Sharon was invited to Buckingham Palace as part of the NHS’ 70th anniversary celebrations in 2018, and to 10 Downing Street for its 75th anniversary in 2023.
In 2021, she was also made “honorary lecturer” at Bangor University.
A spokesperson for Macmillan Cancer Support said: “We are absolutely thrilled and delighted for Sharon Manning to be recognised in this way.
"She has worked tirelessly throughout her distinguished nursing career for people living with cancer; going well beyond her remit to develop new innovative services and raising huge amounts for charity.”
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