Happy Retirement, Sandra

After more than 20 years working for Dalriada, Sandra is retiring.

We caught up with Sandra before her last day, to reminisce about her time with the company. She told us that care was not something she had considered before, but after running her own successful business, which became overwhelmingly busy, she realised she wanted a better work-life balance. She knew that she wanted to help people and at the time, there was a growing need for support in the community. Sandra felt that the role of support worker would suit her personality well, so she applied to Dalriada. The job was not what she expected and entailed far more than she had originally thought. The image that people had of social care was assisting with personal care and meals, but Sandra discovered that there was much more to the role than she imagined. It was far better than what she thought it was going to be and she knew she’d found a career that she loved. The social aspect of the support, helping people to live their best lives, was fulfilling, and rewarding and made her feel each day, that she was making a difference.

Sandra said that one of the best things about working for Dalriada was that she could always work shifts around the availability that suited her own personal circumstances and allowed her to have a good work-life balance, especially being a single mum to young children. This went right back to when she first started and had only been working a couple of weeks. She had to come into the office and request holiday leave as she had won tickets to go to Disney Land, Paris!

Over the years, Sandra has formed excellent working relationships with not only her colleagues and service users, but also their family members who continue to stay in touch. Sandra remembered fondly, one service user, who at first was very apprehensive about having anyone in her house. This led to Sandra spending a nightshift in the conservatory with her trusty sleeping bag. However, perseverance paid off and, in the end, they got on so well, Sandra was continuously asked to move in full time.

Sandra said she was sad to be leaving, and although there have been many changes to the company over the past 2 decades, the core values have always remained the same; putting the service users first. Sandra feels that she has always been supported by Dalriada and has never been put in a situation where she felt unprepared. She spoke highly of the training, especially over recent years, and felt like there was always someone to listen to her when she needed to talk.

Although Sandra is retiring, she will certainly not be resting. With plans to spend more time with her family, volunteering, joining walking groups and wild water swimming groups, and her new favourite hobby of paddleboarding, she will be as active as ever, if not more!

Everyone here at Dalriada will miss Sandra greatly, and behalf of everyone I would like to say a huge thank you to Sandra for giving 2 decades of her life to improving the lives of so many people.

All the best and enjoy your retirement!