MOST of us either have reason for ourselves or our families to be very grateful to staff at the Royal Bolton Hospital – I know I have over the years.

So it’s good to see their excellence publicly acknowledged in the annual Bolton NHS Foundation Trust awards with individuals singled out for special mention.

Thirteen people received awards but there were more than 280 nominations, highlighting the positive effects staff had on patients’ lives.

Headlines are often unkind to the NHS these days, but there is absolutely no denying that we’ve got plenty of real diamonds working in our local hospital.