Three generations of nurses from the same family who have all worked in Orpington say they have taken inspiration from each other.

Aimee Saunders, 23, has followed in the footsteps of grandmother Rosemary Andrews, 74 and mum Linda Saunders, 56, to pursue a career with the NHS.

The youngest of the three won the training associate of the year at the International Nurses’ Day awards.

Aimee started her career by taking blood samples at Orpington Hospital before starting nurse training at Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) and Greenwich University.

She said: “I enjoy working at the PRUH - I am always learning and being encouraged to further my nursing training.

“When I was a child I remember popping into the PRUH and eating biscuits in the staff room with the matron while waiting for my mum to finish work. Watching hospital life first hand inspired me to become a nurse.”

Mum Linda began life in healthcare by taking blood samples in the outpatients department at Bromley Hospital.

She was also part of the team to move to the newly-built Princess Royal Hospital in 2003.

Linda has now worked in Orpington Hospital since 2011 and is a healthcare assistant and link practitioner for infection prevention and control.

She said: “As a child I watched my mother train to be a registered nurse and my grandmother worked in a nursing home in Scotland. It was the natural path for me to follow.”

Grandmother Rosemary began NHS life as an auxiliary nurse before working in the intensive unit at King’s College Hospital in the 1980s and 1990s.

She said: “Working as an auxiliary nurse was such a rewarding career and it inspired me to become a registered nurse.

“When I retired, with time on my hands, I stood as public governor and was elected. I really wanted to help members of the public who have worries or complaints.”