Porters – People who Make Places in Healthcare
Hospital portering teams are integral to the flow and function of every hospital and our award-winning team at University Hospital Derby & Burton is no exception.
Porters at Derby are often the first and last touchpoints throughout the patient and clinician journey. In a ‘normal’ non-Covid year the team handles 78,000 patient-related moves, delivery of specimens, moving 2,000 tonnes of waste and of course, is the welcoming face at the start and end of a hospital visit.
…the RDH portering team continued to literally keep us all moving and got our patients in the right place at the right time. The team does this with compassion on a level of personalisation that makes our patients feel safe. The Portering team is a credit to the Trust and I am so proud to be able to say I work with them.”
Patient and non-patient care
The high performing Portering team consists of 153 porters who are part of a strong dedicated team of placemakers, supervisors and managers who make up the ISS contract.
Ensuring improvement through effective partnerships
Ownership in action
The increased demand for gases highlighted the fact there was no ownership of the process for returns and deliveries. The responsibility lay with the pharmacy department, but as demand grew, it was difficult to control, a situation that could lead to shortages. On the suggestion of the porters, they now take full ownership of this process which has been commended by the Trust as a real positive step change and service improvement.
"Tom [Richardson, ISS Head of Portering] has put considerable effort into building relationships with the Emergency Department and Medical Assessment Unit teams. He has always been responsive and helpful. We are really looking forward to improving things further with Tom."