A nurse with a lifelong passion for caring for people with special needs has been appointed the new manager of Affinity  - Lancashire’s supported living service.

After working for 29 years in the NHS, Heather Holder (48) has joined the Accrington based company at an exciting time.

Soon after her arrival, Affinity won a prestigious East Lancs   Primary Care Trust contract to provided supported living services for three houses in the Nelson and Brierfield area.

The coup also means that twenty employees will be transferred from the NHS to work under Heather’s wing at Affinity this summer.

She says: “I was looking for a new challenge and I certainly found one! It has been all systems go since I arrived here but I am loving every minute of it.”

Heather, who lives in Burnley, was just sixteen when, she spent four weeks doing voluntary work at a special school for pupils with learning difficulties.

“I’d  always been interested before then but had  started thinking of becoming  a general nurse. That experience changed my mind. I just found it so rewarding helping people live a ‘normal’ life despite their difficulties,” she recalls.

After taking her A Levels, she trained as a Registered Nurse Learning Disabilities at Calderstones Hospital, qualifying in 1983.

She became a ward sister there until working in the community from 1999 onwards in a variety of roles including managing homes and a forensic home.

Heather adds: “It was a big decision to leave the NHS after so many years and very daunting. But after an informal interview at Affinity I was so impressed with the service already being provided and could see the potential it had.”

“There was a real family feel to the organisation that you don’t get within the NHS and I relished the idea of working within that atmosphere. So far I haven’t looked back!”

Donna Briggs, Operations Director of the Springhill Care Group, which owns Affinity, said: “We consider ourselves very fortunate to have attracted someone as vastly experienced in learning difficulties as Heather is. What really impressed us is that despite her experience, she has never lost her enthusiasm and dedication for changing people’s lives for the better.”

"She’s certainly had a hectic start here but has managed to cope brilliantly.”

When not working, Heather enjoys travelling with husband Randolph and has in the past visited Russia, Venezuela, India and America. She is a keen gardener and also enjoys driving and embroidery.