Meet the team

Delia was educated at Sheffield High School before heading to the London School of Economics in 1981 and then joining Peat Marwick Mitchell, which later became KPMG, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. She stayed with KPMG for nearly 20 years moving with the firm to Manchester in 1995 when her husband’s job moved him to Stockport. With three children now, Delia had finally had enough of corporate life in 2005 and moved to Whaley Bridge where she joined a local firm of accountants.

Delia became the youngest ever Trustee of HFT, a leading charity providing residential care for adults with learning disabilities, sitting on the Management Board and chairing the Audit Committee. Her next involvement was with the Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Manchester where she was Treasurer, and Chairman for a period after the death of the incumbent, at a time of swingeing cuts in the funding of charities.

Delia’s involvement with Blythe House came about because of the Hospice at Home Service. Having seen the problems of end of life care in the area on the death of her father, she was keen to get involved with the project and became a Trustee of Blythe House in 2015.

Dr Louise Jordan qualified from medical school in 1985. Due to her husband’s career as a neurologist they worked in several areas in England, including being a partner in Corbridge in Northumberland, and finally returning to Derbyshire where she has been a partner at Baslow Health Centre for over 20 years. Sadly her husband died in 2011, but Louise has remained in the family home with her two sons who have now left home (mostly!).

She has always been passionate about end of life care; spending her elective at medical school working in various (then very embryonic) hospices, and then in 1999 taking the diploma in Palliative Medicine. She worked for some time in Ashgate Hospice until the pressures of General Practice drew her back into full-time work as a GP.

Enabling a good death at home has been a culture and value that are instilled in her practice, and were reflected in the ‘Real Peak Practice’ documentaries shown in 2015.

In 2001, she co-founded Helen‘s Trust in memory of a young woman she was looking after who was determined to stay and die in her own home. Helen’s Trust flourished and Dr Jordan managed it with another trustee without employing any staff for the first few years until its success and growth required employing the team that then helped to forge its place in North Derbyshire.

Louise has given many talks and presentations about the work of Helen’s Trust. She is incredibly proud of the successful merger with Blythe House and very excited about the power that this collaboration will give to provide a specialist palliative care service and holistic care for people with life-limiting illnesses, and their families and carers in North Derbyshire.

Dr Mike Hardman obtained his BMedSci and MBChB from Sheffield University. He trained in General Medicine (MRCP) and Clinical Pharmacology in Sheffield, Munich and Oxford, conducted basic research at the MRC Unit and University Department of Clinical Pharmacology at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford and was awarded his MD from the University of Sheffield. After 10 years of clinical practice and research he joined ICI Pharmaceuticals.

For 28 years, he worked in all stages of medicine development across several therapeutic areas in the UK, USA, Germany and Japan and has had a major interest in education and training. His last position, before retiring, was VP IMI Collaborations AstraZeneca IMED and Coordinator of the IMI EMTRAIN project.

He is a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and a member of the Faculty Education Committee. He is also a lecturer at the EUDIPHARM Masters course in Lyon, the I3H Masters course in Brussels, and an external examiner for the pharmaceutical medicine course at Basel University. He is currently the Co-President of the Rotary club of Buxton.

Dr Natalie Fielding started at the University of Sheffield studying cell biology but quickly decided that she would be far happier with and far better suited to a career in medicine. Whilst at Sheffield Medical School, she spent time with the Territorial Army and commissioned as an officer from The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Although she enjoyed the challenge of the TA, she knew that her passion lay with community based medicine. After foundation medical training in Sheffield, she started her GP training in Manchester and quickly settled on the beautiful Peak District as her base.

Alongside GP training, she has juggled the challenges of raising two young children and helping out with her husband’s two very busy hotels/ pubs/ restaurants.

She enjoys feeling part of her community and getting to know her patients and their families. She worked locally at Thornbrook Surgery in Chapel-en-le-Frith and enjoyed this so much that she has now started as a Partner at the surgery.

Sean is delighted to join Blythe House, particularly having appreciated the support given to many of his patients over 30 years of General Medical Practice in the High Peak.

He was based almost entirely at Elmwood Medical Centre in Buxton but has also worked as a locum across High Peak over the last 2 years while gradually retiring from clinical practice.

During his time as a GP, he served on various management and representative bodies including: Chairman of Derby and Derbyshire Local Medical Committee, Chairman of High Peak Shadow CCG, and board member of High Peak and Dales PCG and PCT.

After giving up his licence to practice as a Doctor, until recently Sean continued to work part time in the NHS as a Non-Executive Director of Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust.

A proud resident of the High Peak for many years, Lizzy now lives in New Mills and has been an academic and law lecturer for over ten years.

Currently the Undergraduate Programme Director for Salford Law, and lecturing across a wide range of legal areas, specialising in the areas of international labour and tort law.
Throughout her academic career, which has included lecturing at The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and summer programme lecturing at The University of Cambridge, Lizzy remains dedicated to the personal and professional development of all of her students.

Alongside her academic career she has also worked in industry for such companies as Stratstone Ferrari and CIPD, and brings with her a wider ranging skill set and strong portfolio of experience in education, management and marketing.

Anne always wanted to be a nurse, so at the age of 17 she undertook nurse training for four and a half years at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

She moved back to Chapel-en-le-Frith when she married and held a variety of posts in rheumatology, orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation at the Devonshire Royal Hospital Buxton. In 1988 she qualified as a nurse tutor and has had a number of roles combining education and clinical practice. She has gained qualifications in aromatherapy, counselling, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy.

In 1996 she moved into the field of cancer and palliative care working at the Neil Cliffe Cancer Centre and St Ann’s Hospice. She moved to the Christie Hospital in 2000 to take up a joint post as Lecturer Practitioner with the Psycho- Oncology team and the University of Manchester and was module leader for the cancer, palliative care and communication skills courses.

In 2008, she came to work at Blythe House Hospicecare, integrating the Living Well Service into the hospice. A number of hospices throughout the country have now adopted the supportive /rehabilitation model that she developed at Blythe House.

In 2014 she was awarded the MBE for her work in cancer care in Manchester and Derbyshire.

Sarah grew up in Knutsford, Cheshire and studied law at Oxford University and Chester Law School before moving to London to start her legal career. She qualified as a solicitor and became a partner at the firm where she trained. After 10 years in London she decided to move out of the city and closer to her family. She relocated to the beautiful Peak District in 2004, and lives there with her husband and teenage son. She is a partner at Irwin Mitchell, and heads up a team in the medical law department of their Sheffield office. Her work focuses particularly on birth injury cases.

Sarah built up a relationship with Helen’s Trust through volunteering at their events, and she became a trustee of the charity in 2014. She was delighted to become a trustee of the combined Blythe House and Helen’s Trust board in 2020.