Medal for South Shields nurse marking 60 years living with diabetes

Margaret Empson received the Robert Lawrence Medal - and tributes from NHS staff in South Tyneside (Image: South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Trust)

A South Shields nurse who discovered she was diabetic when treating others with the condition the 1960s has been awarded a special medal by the charity Diabetes UK.

Margaret Empson was working at London's Royal Free Hospital aged just 22 when - after realising she had symptoms of the condition - she sneaked a testing kit home with her and discovered she too was diabetic.

 She did so after noticing two key symptoms: she needed the toilet often and was incredibly thirsty.

Now, aged 82, Margaret has been awarded the Robert Lawrence Medal - which marks 60 years of living with diabetes.

She was presented it by Dr Shaz Wahid - the medical director at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust.

During her career Margaret also worked as a diabetic health visitor - helping those newly diagnosed with diabetes to get used to and understand their condition.

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