Julia Styles - The Independent (London, England)

Champion of GP practice nurses and women's cancer campaigner

Julia Styles was a nurse from the valleys of South Wales. Awardedan MBE in the New Year's Honours for her work in healthcare inWales, she received the award just a month before she died. She leftschool without O-levels but eventually gained an MA from SwanseaUniversity, lecturing there and at the University of Glamorgan,becoming along the way a champion of practice nurses and thecontribution they could make to general practice. She also developedall-Wales training programmes for cervical screening.

Julia Jones was born in 1950 in Blackwood, South Wales, one ofseven children of the owner of an ice-cream business. She became anursing cadet as soon as she was old enough and trained for theassistant grade of State Enrolled Nurse at St James Hospital,Tredegar, while studying for O-levels at the same time.

She made the then-unusual career choice of becoming one of thefirst nurses in Wales in a family doctor's practice at Abertillery.She was eventually to develop the first academic programme forpractice nurses and the first electronic learning packages.

In 1971 she married Granville Styles, and while their threechildren were small she worked nights at Neville Hall hospital,later going to the University Hospital, Cardiff, to qualify as aState Registered Nurse. As soon as she was on the register, she wasawarded a scholarship to study part-time for a master's degree innursing at Swansea University.

She became assistant director for primary care at the Universityof Cardiff, a deputy director of the National Science course atSwansea University, and a lecturer at the University of Glamorgan.She joined the staff of the Royal College of Nursing, and was alwaysparticularly encouraging of mature students.

As head of nursing at Blaenau Gwent local health board, shetransformed nursing in Ebbw Vale. She initiated a partnership withthe University of Glamorgan with local courses being accredited.

It was while in this post, in 2007, that she became ill withovarian cancer. When, two years ago, funding was withdrawn fromspecialist cancer nurses, she campaigned and wrote to the HealthMinister.

The 500 mourners at her funeral at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church,Blackwood, where she had been baptised, were each given a daffodil -emblem of Marie Curie Cancer Care as well as the Welsh nationalflower.

Julia Styles was a good negotiator, who always had a plan. Herinterests outside nursing included line dancing and walking,particularly in the Gower Peninsula, and she was a member ofPontllanfraith Methodist Choir.

Julia Jones MBE, Welsh nurse leader and educationist: bornBlackwood, South Wales 14 April 1950; married 1971 Granville Styles(three children); died 18 March, 2011.