Here to stay

Tanya Delaney initially took a role with Caremark Leeds with a view to it being temporary until she found a position within the NHS, but she has enjoyed her work in home care support so much she’s decided she us here to stay and looks forward to seeing her clients every day.

 “In this role you get to spend time with the clients and build up some lovely relationships,” said Tanya.

“After my first few weeks one elderly lady asked if I would be with her until she died, how can you walk away from something like that?”

That client has since passed away and Tanya says end of life care is part of the role and it is not something she views as morbid.

“People are at peace with the situation and it is about helping to make their final days as safe and comfortable as possible in their own homes. There’s actually something quite lovely about it,” she said.

After leaving college Tanya became a nursery nurse in Shropshire and when the nursery closed down found work in a British Gas call centre. From there she moved on to work for a charity providing help for people who had fallen into debt.

She took a year off after the birth of her son, Archie, and then became a health care assistant with the NHS, helping hospital doctors and nurses in intensive care and A&E.

When she relocated to Leeds she joined Caremark in home care support, thinking it would be a stop-gap position until she returned to the NHS.

“That was the plan but now I don’t want to leave, I love this job so much because of the time you get to spend with the clients, getting to know them and their families. In the NHS it was all just such a rush,” said Tanya.

Outside of work Tanya, 46, enjoys live gigs. She recently saw Echo and the Bunnymen and next on the list is a trip to Belfast to see Simple Minds.  

But most of her time is spent with six-year-old Archie, something made possible by the flexibility of hours offered by Caremark Leeds.

“They are very good in arranging hours that suit your particular circumstances,” said Tanya. “I’m able to work 9am-2.30pm which means I can drop Archie off at school and be there for him when he finishes.”