Father-of-three Anwar Hoq, 52, has run an Indian restaurant for more than 26 years but retrained as a Nurse at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust more than five years ago. 

Anwar works three days a week in the community in the East locality of Walsall borough and spends Fridays and Saturdays ensuring customers are satisfied and things are running smoothly at his eatery Shadin.

His wife Paria Hoq, a Critical Care Sister in Intensive Care at Good Hope Hospital and Heartlands Hospital, always believed Anwar’s people skills and caring nature were also ideally suited to Nursing.

“My wife was on my case for a long time, so I decided to go back to college to retrain,” said Anwar, who lives in Erdington.

“It was daunting because I left school without any qualifications, but I completed a health and social care access course at Sutton Coldfield College then did my Nursing degree at the University of Wolverhampton and started work in January 2023.

“I also received wonderful support from my wife, family and colleagues, which really helped.

“Since qualifying in September 2022, I have loved every second of it and I have found my niche in community.

“I enjoyed my time on the wards as a Student Nurse but I was lucky enough to do a placement in the community as part of my training and I knew straightaway this was the place for me.

“On the wards, you treat the patients and they get better and go home, but in the community you are autonomous and you have that continuity of care which really sold it to me.”

Support for him has been a key part of Anwar’s success in combining careers.

“In the last few years I lost both parents so during COVID-19 I had the best part of a year out which was a traumatic time,” he recalled.

“I had superb support from Jen Somers, Dawn Asbury and Debbie Watson (Jen is Locality Lead, Dawn and Debbie are both Matrons in Placed-Based Teams).”

Anwar loves his job but also still really enjoys his restaurant, which is in Bristol. And with friend and business partner Joynal Motins running it during the week, he is happy juggling both careers.

“I’m a people person so I love meeting people and get on with young and old,” he said.

Nursing is running through the family too as 22-year-old twin son Sami is in his second year of a Nursing degree at the University of Wolverhampton, hoping to be a chip off the old block.