Margaret Tinkler: Healthcare Assistant

South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust

Margaret Tinkler: Healthcare Assistant

I have worked for the NHS for 13 years and I can honestly say that every working day has been a pleasure.


I have had some fantastic positions in the NHS starting as a breakfast hostess in 1996. Moving into my first healthcare assistant post in elderly care was where I really 'learned the ropes'. I completed my NVQ 2 and 3 in this role and then moved on to a very interesting position in the physiotherapy department. Here, I worked with patients with multiple sclerosis in their homes helping them with exercise routines and stretches.

After three years in the physiotherapy department, I was given the opportunity to work as a maternity healthcare assistant, seconded to a Surestart funded project. This was a brilliant job, which I gained an enormous amount from and I believe that the women and their babies did too.

I am now a senior healthcare assistant in the very busy accident and emergency department at The James Cook University Hospital - a job which I love and plan to stay in until I retire.

I have had a wonderful 13 years in the NHS and have even encouraged my 21 year old daughter to join the NHS as a healthcare assistant, as I know it will be a secure future for her.