Smiles all round as Councillor and Mrs Halsted chat with Mrs Hayes.

Councillor George Halsted, chairman of Burnley Rural District Council visited Burnley General Hospital on New Year's Day, accompanied by his wife. They were shown around the hospital by Senior Nursing Officer Miss Binns, Senior Administrative Officer Mr D. Brierley and Nursing Officer Mr J. T. Atkinson. One of the first members of staff they met was 20-year-old student nurse Marie Claire Yu King Kan of Mauritius, who started work at the hospital less than a week previously.

In the children's wards Councillor and Mrs Halsted were introduced to five-year-old Darren Baldwin of Clarence Street, Burnley. They also met Mrs Helen Hayes of Brownside Road Worsthorne in the recovery ward. The tour of the hospital ended with a visit to the intensive care unit.