Ex-M&S manager in caring new role

A former Marks & Spencer store manager is helping patients across Stafford and Cannock to speak again after a complete change in career.

After a successful 18-year career with Marks & Spencer, Eileen Kucharski had what she calls her 'Millennium moment' – and decided to become a speech and language therapist.

Eileen, who became team leader of South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust's adult speech and language therapy service for the west area three months ago, is now based at Stafford and Cannock Chase Hospitals.

She and her team provide therapy for patients with speech, language, voice or swallowing problems. Eileen enrolled for a three-year course at the University of Central England in 2000 and, after qualifying, became speech and language therapist for Sandwell PCT's rehabilitation team, where she spent five years before moving to Stafford and Cannock Chase Hospitals.

She said: "I had a very successful career with Marks & Spencer and became both a store and a finance manager. While I am pleased to have had that career, which was very rewarding, I had done work attachments with speech and language therapists when I left school and I had a lot of empathy with what they did. Approaching the year 2000 I had what I call my 'Millennium moment' and, realising I had wonderful transferable skills, decided to retrain.

"This meant a huge drop in pay – but I haven't regretted it. Not being able to communicate is probably one of the most devastating things that can happen to an individual and being part of a therapeutic team that can improve patients' lives is a privilege of a job."

Eileen's team includes six speech and language therapists at varying levels of experience and an administration and clerical worker. They work at the hospital bedside with patients identified as having speech, language, voice or swallowing problems – for example those who have had strokes, a degenerative neurological disease, Parkinsons Disease or Multiple Sclerosis.

They also have outpatients appointments at their bases in Ward 10 at Stafford Hospital or in the therapies department at Cannock Chase Hospital – and provide therapy to patients at home when they leave hospital.

Their work may involve reducing a patient's impairment, helping to regain language processing skills or providing a communication device or voice amplification.