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International porter of the year award
From left to right: Mark Edwards, Craig McElroy, Ilie Pop

It’s February 21st 2023 and an unsuspecting Craig McElroy, Porter at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital, is sat at a table beside his family and manager at a day of celebration for Healthcare Porters in London, England. Each award passes for such things as ‘Team of The Year’ and ‘Outstanding Contribution to Patient Experience’ unbeknown to Craig he is about to be named ‘International Porter of The Year’. Organisers were inspired by Craig’s nomination, sent in by his manager Ilie Pop – Portering Service Manager also of Beaumont Hospital, coupled with Ilie and Craig’s enthusiasm for the awards and for the celebration of a role that is often overlooked of its importance by that of the work of others within a hospital. It was these things which saw the organisers, GV Healthcare, who were working in association with the NHS in England to put on the ceremony, to create the bespoke award for Craig – deciding to keep it top secret until the day of the event, which saw Craig burst with excitement as his name was read out. Today sees Craig presented with his trophy in front of his colleagues and senior management – where he is known as “The Red Bull of the Portering Department” - at a specially arranged meeting at Beaumont Hospital, where he received a rapturous applause when going up to collect his award. Craig said: “It feels great – I was just happy to be nominated. I love working in this hospital and the people I work with, and being a Porter is great – it’s a gift. I was a little embarrassed (being presented the award in front of colleagues) but I was happy to see that they were all happy for me and cheering me on. I couldn’t be happier. I love giving them (the patients) the finest of service and getting the thanks (from them) at the end. I have great banter with the patients and I’ll just continue to treat them with the best of respect and love”


Craig McElroy with Beaumont Hospital staff
Craig McElroy with Beaumont Hospital Porters

Craig’s nomination came hot on the heels of him being named ‘Porter of The Year’ at Beaumont – all the more impressive with it being in his first year as a Porter. His manager Ilie Pop said: “His attitude in work has been the highest ever and the compliments Craig receives every day are the best we have heard in a long time. If you could multiply him going forward, delivery of service would be of a very high standard at all times. He’s not had a single day off sick, he is complimented each and every day he’s here and every team in the hospital wishes to work with him”. GV Healthcare’s Mark Edwards, who presented the award to Craig alongside Ilie, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to celebrate unsung healthcare heroes like Craig. We’ve been in contact with a number of hospitals across Ireland for a number of months now and have seen first-hand how the Irish really show support for their Porters and are keen to shout about the great, often underappreciated work they do. We’ve seen a number of hospitals in Ireland realising how much impact an efficient Portering service can have on the services provided by Doctors and Nurses, which has seen hospitals looking into investment in Portering to the benefit of patients with improved flow of patients through the hospital, alongside benefits to the Porters in terms of their wellbeing”.

Mark Edwards presenting Craig McElroy his trophy

Back in February, the Finalists attended a live conference during the day which saw them hear guest speakers talk to them about the future of portering, team work and portering peers who talked best practice and the need for Governments to acknowledge the expertise of portering with recognised qualifications. Guests then dined on a three-course meal before the live awards ceremony celebrated the great work done by these unsung heroes of the NHS, HSE and every other health board and institution present.

Fiona Daly - National Deputy Director of Estates at NHS England said at the event: “Today’s event has been brilliant, here, recognizing all the great work that is happening across healthcare with the portering services within Estates and Facilities – during times like the pandemic, the likes of the porters, the cleaners, the security guards – they kept hospitals going. They are the beating heart and it has been amazing to be here today recognizing all of their efforts not just for during the pandemic, but now as we move towards a period of recovery”.


Ebenezer Opalemo-Jimoh collecting on behalf of Victor Adjei
Ebenezer Opalemo-Jimoh representing Victor Adjei - winner of the MyPorter Porter of The Year Winner

Victor Adjei, of Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield has this week been recognised by the NHS and awarded for his work as a porter, standing out for the judges among masses of entries from the UK & Ireland. A passionate person, dubbed a ‘ray of sunshine’ Victor never says ‘no’ to work and always goes the extra mile, with a smile on his face and willingness to apply his many skills wherever they are required, assisting on weekends and staying late where other shifts can’t be covered due to sickness or absence. Victor is an inspiration to his team because of his empathy and positivity. Team members emulate him because of the optimistic, dedicated way he cares for everyone around him. All his work as a porter was just the beginning for the NHS judges, when they found out how Victor had suffered through personal challenges, it became impossible not to see him as a worthy winner. Father to a very unwell child who still requires 24-hour care, he spent over a year at his child’s bedside at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Battling through dire prognoses, including the recommendation that he turn off his child’s life support, Victor slept on the floor of the hospital ward before travelling into work each day. Despite doctors’ advice that he should give up work to avoid this daily struggle, he refused, stating that living in the hospital gave him a clearer appreciation of how porters and other staff can be instrumental in a patient’s outlook. Stating: “I love what I do and the unique contribution we make to our patients’ recovery. This is my why”. This week, Victor found out he is the winner of the MyPorter – Porter of The Year Award at this years’ National MyPorter Awards – in association with NHS England. Taking place in central London, the National MyPorter Awards saw six awards presented to the finalists from across the country who made the NHS judges shortlist. The broad range of entries showed just why the NHS porters deserve to be honoured and praised, just like the Doctors and Nurses they work with often are. Nominations such as that for eventual winner of the Dennis Southern – Lifetime Achievement Award, which went to Robbie Graham. Robbie is a massive fan of Liverpool football Club and unfortunately in April 1989 when he was attending a match at Hillsborough Football Ground he was involved in a major incident that changed his life. He left that game with life changing injuries and had to rebuild his life and career path. After going back to college to complete studies in Health & Social Care, due to his injuries and disability he was unfortunately unable to go into full time employment, so he offered his services as a volunteer and joined a disabled Charity.


In 2004 Robbie decided to join the NHS and became a volunteer working with the portering team at Ormskirk District General Hospital. Robbie currently works 4 days a week and assists with several portering roles during his shift including delivering the post, assisting his colleagues in X-ray with transfers and also helps in Pharmacy.


Father-Daughter duo Jemma & Danny Roscoe at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust were also winners; Jemma recently attended site at 6am to assist with flooding, she moved sandbags and assisted with cleaning to minimise damage to the hospital. She always finds a solution to any issue that is presented to her, from ensuring special diet meals are delivered to the wards to fixing broken pipes at 5am. During Covid Danny Roscoe gave his personal mobile number to the wards and offered to assist with oxygen at any time of the day or night. Danny is the “go to” man on his hospital site, if there is a problem he will fix it! He frequently comes in during the festive period in his own time dressed as Santa and will sit and chat with patients in the local hospice – these examples of their great work resulted in them winning the ‘Portering Team of The Year Award’. The Finalists attended a live conference during the day which saw them hear guest speakers talk to them about the future of portering, team work and portering peers who talked best practice and the need for the Government to acknowledge the expertise of portering with a recognised qualification. Guests then dined on a three-course meal before the live awards ceremony celebrated the great work done by these unsung heroes of the NHS.

Fiona Daly - National Deputy Director of Estates at NHS England said at the event: “Today’s event has been brilliant, here, recognizing all the great work that is happening across the NHS with the portering services within Estates and Facilities – during times like the pandemic, the likes of the porters, the cleaners, the security guards – they kept the NHS going. They are the beating heart of NHS and it has been amazing to be here today recognizing all of their efforts not just for during the pandemic, but now as we move towards a period of recovery”.


Winners


Porter of The Year Award

Victor Adjei - Chase Farm Hospital (Royal Free London)


The Dennis Southern For Endeavour Award

Robbie Graham - Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust


Team of The Year Award

Jemma and Danny Roscoe - Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust


Leadership of The Year Award

Ryan Lindsay - Barnet Hospital (Royal Free London)


Outstanding Contribution to Patient Experience Award

Joshua Hawkins - Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust


Newcomer of The Year Award

Jack Teague - Royal Surrey County Hospital


International Porter of The Year

Craig McElroy - Beaumont Hospital


Sky News Interview




The shortlists for both The National MyPorter Awards and The National MyCleaning Awards have today been announced, featuring 3 candidates for each of the twelve award categories across the two awards events – with this year seeing the awards in greater collaboration with NHS England. With just shy of 200 entries, this years’ awards are the biggest and most competitive yet in a celebration of those within Clinical Support Services – particularly Portering and Healthcare Cleaning. Live awards ceremonies in February taking place in central London across two days will see unsung heroes within healthcare have a spotlight shone on the great work they do. The first, The National MyPorter Awards, honouring the best in Portering for all the fantastic hard work and commitment they show, and then the second will see a day of celebrating the Healthcare Cleaners, Domestic teams and Auditors – for the fantastic work they do keeping patients safe by ensuring infections are kept to a minimum. Alongside the awards dinner, the first day will start with a live conference, with talks from NHS England and various Trust’s across the country, covering subjects such as Portering Standards and lobbies for recognised Portering Training and Qualifications. These will then followed up by a dedicated discussion panel with the floor. The next day will see talks NHS England Estates & Facilities’ Director & Head of Profession – Simon Corben, alongside other discussions by NHS England and AHCP-associated guests on the National Standard of Healthcare Cleanliness and Healthcare Cleaning training. A panel will then take questions from the floor. The shortlist for the six National MyPorter Awards categories are as follows – in no particular order: Newcomer of The Year Award – shortlist: Thanujan Theivanthiran - London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust Jack Teague - Royal Surrey County Hospital Deepak Depala - Chase Farm Hospital (Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust)

Leadership of The Year Award – shortlist: Zaheer Iqbal - Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust Ryan Lindsay - Barnet Hospital (Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust) Sue Bolt – Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Outstanding Contribution to Patient Experience Award – shortlist: Cameron Quinlan - Darent Valley Hospital (Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust) Joshua Hawkins - Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust Daniel Wheeler - City Hospitals Sunderland Commercial Enterprises Ltd (CHoICE) Portering Team of The Year Award – shortlist:

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Darent Valley Hospital (Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust) Jemma and Danny Roscoe - Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Dennis Southern Lifetime Achievement Award – shortlist: Paul MacKay – University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust Robbie Graham - Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust Denise Starr - Stockport NHS Foundation Trust MyPorter Porter of The Year Award – shortlist: Brendon Bielby - Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Victor Adeji - Chase Farm Hospital (Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust) Seamus McMahon - St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The shortlist for the six National MyCleaning Awards categories are as follows – in no particular order: Newcomer of The Year Award – shortlist: Callum Lane - Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust Lisa Harry - Somerset NHS Foundation Trust Evelyn Barkley - Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Leadership of The Year Award – shortlist: Matthew Taylor - Somerset NHS Foundation Trust Carol Birch - County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust Rachael Hutchinson - City Hospitals Sunderland Commercial Enterprises Ltd (CHoICE) MyAudit Auditor of The Year Award – shortlist: Elizabeth Sanders - St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Tracy Boswell - Stockport NHS Foundation Trust Amanda Grundy - East Cheshire NHS Trust Healthcare Cleaning Team of The Year Award, sponsored by GT Cleaning Machines – shortlist:

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust Somerset Community – Somerset NHS Foundation Trust Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Numatic – shortlist: Susan Robason - City Hospitals Sunderland Commercial Enterprises Ltd (CHoICE) Sue Benstead - Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Doris Robinson - North Tyneside General Hospital – Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust MyCleaning Domestic of The Year Award – shortlist: John Waites - County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust Geraldine Needham - Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Micheal Mantle - Stockport NHS Foundation Trust Congratulations to all those who have been shortlisted – Good Luck at the live finals. For any questions or queries relating to The National MyPorter Awards or The National MyCleaning Awards, please contact:

gvhealthcare@globalviewsystems.co.uk

Or Visit:

https://www.myporterlogistics.com/myporter-awards https://www.mycleaningtasks.com/mycleaningawards


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