Patricia Hemper is far from the average career girl. In fact, she loves her work so much that she has been doing the same line of work for over 55 years!

Patricia chose to look for work within the Care sector when she was a young woman of just 15 years old.  Having left school, she worked at the Crawley Cottage Hospital as a care worker and continued to  work there until she met her husband and married in 1955.

Taking a break to have her children, Pat then decided to resume the job she loved when her youngest daughter was six years old. So in 1971
she decided to join an agency which gave her the flexibility she needed to combine her family life with her work commitments. During that time she worked in various residential and nursing homes  as well as giving her time and energy to work on the Lilac Ward of Horsham Hospital. The agency
were so pleased with Pat’s dedication and her obvious enjoyment of her work that they asked her to become a permanent member of staff.

Naturally, Pat gladly accepted and she continued to work with her characteristic enthusiasm and dedication until her devoted husband passed away in 1992. At this point, Pat decided to return to agency work when eventually her assignments brought her to Caremark’s Extra Care Scheme at Lanehurst Gardens. Pat started her first shift at Lanehurst Gardens as a Care and Support Worker in October 2005 and soon became a favourite agency staff member.

She worked regularly until January 2006 when she was offered a permanent contract and then joined their regular care team.Undertaking new training does not phase Pat either! In fact it is something that she really enjoys and her enthusiasm for learning is illustrated by the fact that last year she studied for and achieved her NVQ3 in Social Care in only 9 weeks!

Pat is a real asset to the Care Team and greatly enjoys helping new staff members learn the ropes and settle in.“Working with Pat is wonderful and I have worked with her for three years now. She took me under her wing and made me the carer that I am today. She is a great person, always willing to help and always up for a laugh. Pat is a really professional person when it comes to her job and has always helped me and other members of staff at Lanehurst. She is a star and I would even say that she is the star of Caremark!” said Chris Marie, Deputy Manager Lanehurst Gardens.