NHS employee, Kath Benson, becomes new Mayor of Blackpool and pledges to focus on community.
Kath Benson, Home Support Worker
Kath Benson, Home Support Worker, who has been working at Blackpool NHS for 33 years has followed in her father’s footsteps by becoming the new Mayor of Blackpool.
Elected on the 18 May 2022, 35 years after her late father Leo Pomfret’s appointment, Kath has delivered several events as Mayor including opening Blackpool Pride, attending Jubilee Celebration events and supporting numerous community events.
As a much-loved member of the Trust, Kath is described by colleagues as the go-to person with a wealth of knowledge about services and always fun to be around. As a new grandma, Kath is passionate about services in the community and in her day-to-day role as home support worker focuses on helping those with learning disabilities from managing appointments through to family support services.
Working alongside 40 colleagues in the community, Kath is also leading on a major project. Supporting patients by making bowel cancer screenings accessible from creating easily read materials to being with a patient on the day of a cancer screening kit delivery, to ensure they are put at ease and understand how to correctly complete the test.
Vicky Cox, Lead Liaison Nurse commented, “I don’t know how she finds the time. We are very lucky to have Kath on the team and would be lost without her! She is much loved by colleagues and patients and we are all so proud of her for becaming the new Mayor of Blackpool.”
Councillor Kath Benson added, “I have always been passionate about our Blackpool community since a young age, myself and siblings were always on hand to help my dad at his events and it was through his influence I pursued a career in helping people. This is a challenging job but the reward of helping people makes every moment meaningful.
“I am excited to be taking on the extra responsibilities of Mayor of Blackpool alongside my sister, Therese Clark, who is Mayoress.”