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    The Secret Patient: My newfound love for hospital porters



    Hull porters are leading the way in patient experience


    In hospitals, across the country, portering services are working harder than ever, in extreme circumstances to get people, equipment and supplies to the right location on demand, which The Secret Patient claims to have been, like most other general members of the public, largely unaware of the amount of work that goes into portering, of which she claims to now have a new appreciation for, after an unfortunate need for a stay in hospital.


    This portering workload she has seen first-hand isn't just a case of logistical efficiency; it's people's lives.


    And it needs to be, take *Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, for example. The service runs between two sites, five miles apart with over 1000 beds, dealing with around a million patients every year under normal circumstances. But these are not normal circumstances, and this past 18 months, hospitals are having to adapt, reorganise, improvise and learn like never before with limitations placed on virtually every aspect of the service. Reliance on ever-dependable NHS staff, with the support of smart technology, is delivering much-needed efficiency and consistency.


    A unique view - Patient Experience


    The ‘Secret Patient’ Feedback from one patient’s perspective (better known to her friends as Joanna) whom has spent a week at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, gave us a personal glimpse of her experience.


    “For me, a week in Hull Royal Infirmary, even with its friendly staff and high-rise panoramic views, felt like a very long time. For a start, I’m sure I wasn’t alone in feeling the effects of the combination of the ‘no visitors’ policy and blanket coverage ‘PPE’. In fact, most days my unlikely sanity saviours turned out to be the porters who arrived doing what porters do best, to be fundamentally human. Being pushed along near-deserted corridors in a ‘wheely’ chair, negotiating turns and corners with the wind in my hair took me back to childhood, and was better than any pain relief! All the while, the porters are organising themselves on their unique form of porter communication wizardry or 'radio phones' as they call them (walkie-talkies you can text on is the best description I can think of).

    After a couple of goes at this, I made a point of mentioning the 'radio phones' by way of striking up conversation. Every porter (male, female, all ages) talked with confidence about how they work and how reliant they are on them. ‘I couldn’t do my job without this’, said one porter, and I saw first-hand, what this means, and why it matters so much. Closed corridors, route diversions, 'off-limit' areas, and an obviously huge amount of operational disruption.


    ‘Our kit’


    The radio chatter is direct, quick and, taken very seriously; also, the 'radio phones' are a source of local pride. Porters enthusiastically tell me that Hull hospitals were the first to have this tech (MyPorter as it’s apparently officially known) and add that very few hospitals in the UK have ‘our kit’.


    On one trip, my porter was prompted that he hadn't acknowledged a change of location. With that, we did a swift turnaround to detour by ‘Porter HQ’ (a small office in the depths of the hospital) to make sure everything was okay? ‘Sorry about that’, he said as we set off again, ‘we all give these (taps his ‘kit’) our full attention and priority’.


    I can vouch for the fact that they do, and it matters.


    I’m now happy to report that I’m back home and on the mend, thankful as ever, to the NHS for having put me on the road to recovery whilst protecting me from Covid. I've had a lesson in appreciating my ‘home comforts’ and big telly, but, most of all, I'm grateful to the porters, who, with their cheeriness, humanity, and ‘wheely’ chairs it brought me the closest possible thing to the joys of Netflix!”


    An NHS representative responded: “Patient feedback on our services is vital in continuing to improve how we deliver the best possible care to our patients. During every patient interaction, the role of hospital portering is to be polite, professional and caring. This helps to reassure and puts the patient at ease during each patient journey.” --- Disclaimer: The views and opinions provided are that of The Secret Patient and not of Global View or MyPorter. The Secret Patient (Joanna) is a real person and was in hospital for real reasons (which are not mentioned due to confidentiality). Global View/MyPorter did not, or would not compromise health and safety during a pandemic or at any other time by placing a member of the public into hospital. Global View/MyPorter were approached by The Secret Patient after their discharge from hospital.

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    MyPorter - Sunderland Case Study


    Read our latest case study now. Simply click the link below to download.

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    MyPorter Awards 2020 - winner announced


    NHS ‘Community Hero’ Scoops National Porter Award

    A new national award-scheme recognising the work and dedication of NHS hospital porters has today announced its first winner and a special posthumous award.


    The MyPorter Awards recognise the work and dedication of NHS portering teams, who, like many NHS staff, have taken on extra responsibilities, worked additional shifts and gone the 'extra-mile' to help hospitals cope with the pressures of the Covid pandemic.


    The awards attracted entries from across the UK, with many hospitals nominating more than one individual and, in some instances, entire teams.


    The winner of the first MyPorter Awards for 2020 is Claire Blackhall, a Chargehand Porter at Wansbeck General Hospital, Northumbria. Despite suffering the personal loss of family members, single Mum, Claire, continued to work full-time, not taking a single day off. She performed her role with extraordinary humanity, listening to patients and helping wherever she could, despite her personal agonies. On top of all her hard work, Claire is also training to become a volunteer coastguard – something she has chosen to do as a means of giving back to her local community. Tracey Smith, Hotel Service Officer Facilities for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust, commented, “This is a fantastic achievement; I am immensely proud of Claire's approach to work and the support she gives not only to our patients but to the wider team and staff at Wansbeck General Hospital."


    Claire wins the MyPorter Award 2020 trophy, and a donation of £250 will be made to a charity of her choice. A further £250 charity donation goes to the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust’s charity partner, ‘Bright Northumbria’ https://www.justgiving.com/NHCCF)


    A further special posthumous award will honour the late Dennis Southern, also a porter with the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust from 2007 to 2021.


    Sadly, Dennis passed away on 1st February 2021, leaving a legacy of dedication, hard work, respect and compassion. For these reasons, the judges have created the Dennis Southern Award – for endeavour, which will be presented to the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital where Dennis worked.


    The Dennis Southern Award will be awarded annually to an outstanding individual in addition to the awarding of the annual MyPorter Award.


    Claire and Dennis’s stories personify putting the needs of others before their personal difficulties. The following notable entries, each deserving special mention, show just how difficult the judges found the job of choosing only one worthy winner.


    Richard Barrow and Mark Sadler from George Eliot NHS Trust were typical nominations. Whilst transferring a patient receiving end-of-life care, they overheard the patient asking his wife if he could have a taste of his favourite ice-cream one last time. Richard and Mark promptly went to the local shop, bought the ice-cream with their own money and took it to the patient. This small act of kindness created a precious moment of joy for the patient and earned Richard and Mark the family's gratitude.


    Lauren Ross represents the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Lauren deserved special mention for her vigilance when she noticed that a patient she had previously delivered for an X-ray had deteriorated, becoming unresponsive. Lauren raised the alarm; a crash call was made, and the patient transferred to the resuscitation unit. Had Lauren not been so attentive or quick-thinking, a very different outcome may have resulted. Paul Hynes from the Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital has been an unsung hero to his colleagues and patients. Despite having been very poorly with Covid himself, Paul returned to work as quickly as he was able to help his colleagues. He has covered additional shifts, plugging gaps in the team numbers in whatever ways he could. He's also been a wellbeing champion, supporting staff who have struggled with the emotional strain of dealing with Covid patients, day-in, day-out. He has been recognised for professionally and compassionately supporting his colleagues.


    Commenting on the reasons for introducing the awards, Richard Iveson of GlobalView, creators of MyPorter, explained, "Porters are often the unsung heroes of the NHS, and they put in a lot of gruelling hours of hard, physical and emotional work. If you took the porters out of a hospital, nothing would work; it would grind to a halt. They’re a vital cog in the machine for every hospital, none more so than during the Covid-19 pandemic. We wanted to create an opportunity for NHS Trusts to honour their porter heroes publicly." Runners-up, included: Paul Hynes, nominated by Sharon Hindley (Liverpool Heart & Chest hospital), Richard Barrow & Mark Sadler, nominated by Paul Sylvester (George Eliot Hospital) & Lauren Ross, nominated by Nikki O'Brien (Leeds General Infirmary). Notable mentions go to: David Beattie, nominated by Phil Hall (Hexham General Hospital), Joe Cooper, nominated by Martyn Abbott (Maidstone Hospital) & Michael Rainbird, nominated by Mark Lepine-Williams (Frimley Park Hospital).

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