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Noreen Edwards, who has died aged 85, was known as "the perfect matron" by her patients and staff. She demanded exacting standards of nursing care and was a very efficient administrator, firm but fair. These qualities were tempered by her innate kindness and a wicked sense of humour.
Daughter of the vicar of Conwy, Noreen trained as a nurse at Queen Elizabeth hospital, in Birmingham, followed by midwifery training at Queen Charlotte's in London and St David's, Bangor. She was matron of Nant Y Glyn maternity hospital, Colwyn Bay, Colwyn Bay Community hospital and finally Abergele hospital.
She chaired the Welsh board and the national council of the Royal College of Nursing. In the Territorial Army, she reached the rank of lieutenant colonel and was awarded the Territorial Decoration. Noreen also served on the Warnock Committee on human fertilisation; chaired a Welsh Office committee on community nursing that was widely praised for its clarity; and was the first woman to be appointed deputy lord lieutenant and high sheriff of Clwyd. She was awarded the OBE in 1970 and made a CBE in 1988.
Noreen was appointed a member of the Gwynedd health authority in north-west Wales in 1976, and became chairwoman in 1982. I was the general manager and worked with her for 10 years. She was challenging but supportive. Her combination of clear thinking and common sense enabled her to reach the nub of a complex issue quickly.
We went through some difficult times: financial pressures, an ambitious rationalisation programme involving closure of hospitals with fierce public opposition, occupation of the headquarters by Welsh-language activists, and all the usual controversy that goes with the NHS. Through it all, Noreen retained the trust of successive secretaries of state for Wales, Welsh Office officials and the local medical, nursing and other staff.
She never lost the common touch and treated everybody with the same courtesy and respect. Her approach to all issues was grounded in her concern for patients. What she had learned as a nurse and a matron informed her approach to all issues in the health service.
In 1973 she married Geoff Edwards, the town clerk of Colwyn Bay. Their marriage was a very happy one, and she nursed Geoff through his final distressing illness. His three sons and their families all adored her. Geoff and two of his sons died in 2004. Noreen is survived by her stepson, Michael; daughter-in-law, Chris; and five grandchildren.
