'We're 78 and still working hard at Walsall Manor Hospital with no plans to retire – it’s like a family'

Friends Chris Webb (Left) and Maureen Brain have been support service assistants at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust for 20 years after decades as spot welders.

Known as ‘The Twinnies’, both work in the kitchen and ward of the Acute Medical Unit in the Urgent and Emergency Care Centre at Walsall Manor Hospital. 

They prepare hot drinks and meals for patients, then clear up after everybody.

Chris works Mondays and Fridays and Maureen Tuesdays and Thursdays, while at weekends, Chris cleans the ward and Maureen the kitchen.

And they both have a busy home life - widow Chris is a mum of twins, grandmother of five and great-grandmother of two – who she looks after on Wednesdays.

Maureen, married to retired builder Allan for 58 years, is also a mum of two, grandmother of five and has 10 great-grandchildren. Their families all live nearby.

 But they still enjoy going to work and wouldn’t swap it. They socialise too, taking annual trips to Blackpool and Benidorm for years.

 Maureen said: “I love it – it’s like a family.

“The younger staff call me nan and the older ones call me mum. Chris says the only time we will leave here is in a box.

 “We clock up some miles. This ward – which we moved to last year – is bigger than the old one with four patients in each bay and nine side rooms.”

 Chris added: “I love it – if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t do it. I’m not one for sitting about. My husband used to say ‘are you going to sit down?’ but I never could.

 “I love interacting with the patients – I always make a point of addressing them by their name.

 “We have a laugh – there’s no point walking around with a long face and some of the patients are right characters.

 “I could retire if I wanted to but I don’t want to. My body will tell me when I’ve had enough."

Before their careers at the trust, both worked at Thomas Homer car parts factory in Charles Street in Walsall, Chris for 38 years and Maureen for 26, both supervised by Chris’ late husband Derek, who died in 2020 aged 83.

 Redundancy gave them a fresh start, and for a while they went straight from a day at the factory to working from 5pm-8pm at the Manor, before winning 25-hour contracts.

 Sandra Watts, support services supervisor said: "They’re amazing and we love them working here – they’re a credit to the department and long may it continue."