It is with great sadness that I announce that Lorraine Allan died in hospital at the age of 70 in the early morning of Saturday 25th May 2019 after a short illness.
There is so much to write about Lorraine that I am sure I can never capture it all. She had always been focused on education, not only as a lifelong student herself but throughout her career and she had always championed animals, even from a very tender age. Her children heard many stories of how from a child of only 5 or 6 years she would regularly rescue injured birds, rabbits, hedgehogs, bringing them home to nurse back to life before releasing them. She was born to be a vet, and she was a giant talent in her field. She could diagnose most things at a glance, even before she had laid hands on her patient, and what hands they were. As a surgeon she was magic to watch at work, swift with the scalpel and accurate too, delicate yet decisive. A true master.
Lorraine qualified as a veterinary surgeon from Liverpool University in 1975. She gained her assessor awards in 1995 followed by her Certificate in Education and her Post Graduate Certificate in Education in 1998 and her Masters Degree in Education in 2010.
Her role as a veterinary surgeon was varied, with time spent at Holroyd's, a local Blackburn mixed practice in Lancashire, as a student and then as an assistant veterinary surgeon. Lorraine's passion for teaching others began in 1976, where, after qualifying, she took up a position at Cambridge Veterinary School lecturing on veterinary anaesthesia.
Lorraine met her husband at Holroyd's Veterinary practice and Robert became her soul mate and Veterinary partner, first in their small practice at home and then between 1980 and 1990 at the Riverbank Veterinary Centre in Preston, Lancashire. Lorraine always looked for the next challenge and while working as practice manager for her husband, and raising a young family, she was also the official veterinary surgeon at British Beef in Bamber Bridge and established a part time veterinary nursing course at the Hutton Centre, Lancashire College of Horticulture and Agriculture, later re-branded as Myerscough College.
She gave up practice as the on-call hours were too much when widowed and, as a single parent, she valued her children's childhood over her own endeavours.
Lorraine saw a gap in the veterinary nursing training market in the 1980s and along with other local veterinary surgeons and dedicated College staff they established the first block release veterinary nursing training course in the North West with nine resident student veterinary nurses embarking on a 2 year Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Veterinary Nursing course. This went on to grow to over 500 veterinary nursing students on block, day release, full time and blended learning courses. Lorraine was always keen to use her expertise to train others and soon became involved in animal care, animal welfare and animal science modules at Myerscough College, as well as the block release veterinary nursing.
As the veterinary nursing provision grew at Myerscough College Lorraine realised that she had a particular interest in the Higher Education teaching and training and, as well as being an outstanding teacher for the veterinary nurses in further education, she helped to develop and tutor on Foundation degrees and Degrees in Animal Behaviour and Welfare and The Welfare of Animals, culminating in the accreditation of a Foundation degree and Degree in Veterinary Nursing and a Diploma in Advanced Nursing with the University Central Lancashire.
In addition to this long list of educational developmental successes Lorraine managed to stay focused on her role as duty veterinary surgeon and organiser and official veterinary surgeon for several cat and dog shows in the North West. As president of the Preston and Blackpool cat club and founder of the Northwest Cat Club she gave lectures and workshops to breeders centred around congenital conditions and responsible breeding programmes, long before this was the hot topic of today. Along with her husband, Robert, she championed rare breeds, helping form the Cameo, Pewter and Smoke Society, and helping run their annual show in Fleetwood. She was a keen exhibitor in cat and dog shows with her Rottweilers, Abyssinians, Cameos and Maine Coons, and with Boston Terriers and Lhasa Apso's, alongside her daughter, winning numerous prizes across the country.
Lorraine was always happy to use her considerable expertise to help others and became a member of the University Central Lancashire Review panel, a member of the Faculty of Health Partnership Forum, Chair of the Lancashire Constabulary Animal Welfare group, a member of the editorial board in The Veterinary Nurse, and a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons examinations appeals committee.
Lorraine shared her ideas and knowledge on all these committees as well as in the classroom where she mentored students at all levels of veterinary nursing training, always taking pride in their achievements and successes
She dedicated enormous amounts of time to veterinary nursing training and in the latter years her role as Head of Veterinary Nursing, Farriery and Equine Science at Myerscough College enabled her to continue to see growth in all of these areas as well as mentoring the next generation of veterinary nursing leaders and tutors.
In her spare time Lorraine got enjoyment from spending time with her family, sewing and needlework and solving murder mystery conundrums. She always managed to work out ‘whodunnit’ before the end of the film or play and insisted in sharing it with everyone as soon as she had solved it!
The news of Lorraine's death has shocked us all, she has taught thousands of student veterinary nurses and the consensus amongst so many of them is that she was an inspiration, a dedicated professional, a lovely lady and a legend. She was so very proud of all the thousands of students she taught over the years, she dedicated so much of her extra time to the college, it really was an extension of her vocation.
Lorraine had a wicked sense of humour and didn't suffer fools gladly, but would be generous with her time and knowledge and always acted as advocate for her students and the animals in her care.
Lorraine was a dear friend and her passing has left a huge hole in the veterinary nursing profession and the dog and cat showing world, but she has left behind generations of nurses who will remember, with great fondness, her unique and outstanding teaching methods, her attention to detail and her ability to inspire students to achieve at the highest level.
She always put her own needs second, a truly, truly selfless woman but she embraced life with a wry sense of humour, and a formidable quick wit. She was nearly always the smartest person in the room but never needed to tell anyone. She was caring, she was charming, and she was Robert and Helen's mum.
Our thoughts are with her family, friends and colleagues during this time and particularly they are with her beloved children Helen and Robert and her grandchildren Abigail and Robert.
Thank you, Lorraine, for being such a supporter of the veterinary nursing profession, spending so much time encouraging nurses to take an evidence-based learning approach, to stand up for their profession and for helping to drive the profession forward. You will be remembered dearly by so many of us.