Health and Safety Officer – Leah’s story

My career before Dorothy House

I used to be a manager in hospitality for many years. I quite fancied the transition into retail and working for charity. I was sick of working for corporates and wanted to do something that I felt was more rewarding and gave back to the community. After my dad died, my mum started volunteering at one of the Dorothy House shops. She really found her feet again and became the shop deputy manager.

And then she saw the vacancy come up for the shop manager and thought it would be ideal for me. So I applied and got the job.

New beginnings

I developed a problem with my back and I just couldn't move furniture for a living any more. In this situation the organisation tries to find you another role and the HR manager told me that there was a position for a health and safety administrator that he thought I'd be quite good at.

I'm very grateful to Dorothy House Hospice Care for the opportunity to change my job for something that is a lifetime career with great prospects. I love my job, I love the work that I do. I love the fact that I can facilitate patients having a safe environment to come in. I'm just pleased that I can be part of it and I'm all about facilitating people doing things, but doing it safely.

Day to day as a Health and Safety Officer

No two days are ever the same. I host quite a lot of training, I read lots of legislation and guidance and try and make it translatable for everyday folk. I reply to a lot of questions, everyone in the organisation seems to have a really random health and safety question! The most recent ones I've received are about getting a trampoline, and can we have patients trying scooters out at home? So I get quite a varied range of stuff.

I suppose my job is, wherever there's a need for something within health and safety I either try and procure a solution or look at what will ensure compliance.

Training and further education

Dorothy House Hospice Care have been incredibly supportive of my development as Health and Safety Officer. Most of the training I’ve completed has been through them. They've taken me from being a retail manager to a fully qualified Health and Safety Officer with multiple qualifications, including personal safety trainer, fire and risk management certificate, a HSE behavioural cultural excellence qualification, DSE Assessor and Fire Marshall. I like learning, so if an opportunity comes up I will happily take it.

It’s a great organization to work for and there are so many benefits. It's a really supportive place to work and a really positive environment. I think if you've got the right skills and the right attitude and want to do well and work hard, there are plenty of opportunities within Dorothy House Hospice Care.