SOLICITOR Patricia Wakeford is drawing upon her wealth of legal and medical experience as she takes on a role at Gosport Citizens Advice Bureau.

Patricia, a dual-qualified solicitor and midwife, who is a clinical negligence specialist at BL Claims Solicitors, which has offices in Southampton and Portsmouth, has become a trustee at the bureau in Pavilion Way.

Patricia’s role is behind-the-scenes; working with other trustees to ensure the bureau is run efficiently and is financially sound.

Patricia, who lives in Havant, said: “As trustees we have to ensure that we have a regular stream of funding which is quite difficult as there is a lot of competition from other charities.

“I did not realise what a fantastic organisation Citizen's Advice Gosport is until I started work as a trustee and Gosport is one area that really benefits from this service."

Patricia explained that her legal and medical background were an asset in the role.

“The trustees are from a range of backgrounds and, as the only lawyer, the legal knowledge can be very helpful and being a nurse also helps me relate to people in the team. Working with the many volunteers has been truly inspiring. They give up their time because they want to help their clients as much as is possible," she said.

“It gives me a broad view of what’s happening in the bureau and how we can help people.”

Patricia’s previous voluntary work has included being a school governor and mentoring teenage girls for The Girls Network.