Hospital Heroes – March 2020 (Pt.1)

At the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, we take huge pride in the amazing work of our team and their dedication to our mantra: Putting People First.

We have over 570 people working for us across 41 departments and consider each and every one integral to the smooth running of the hospital. In the coming months, we’ll be meeting lots of them for a quick chat about what their work entails, why they enjoy it and what it is that appeals to them about caring for patients.

Be sure to follow the hospital’s Instagram account (@hospitalofstjohnsteliz) for our latest portraits and keep an eye on the hospital website for a monthly round-up.

Rob Flye, Outpatient Diary Coordinator

Mainly, I organise the floor plan to make sure the clinics are booked correctly. We need to make sure the consultants have enough time in their rooms and that there are no clashes. I also book all the minor procedures and make sure that that room is booked properly and not overrunning. At the end of the day, I work with the nurses just to check what’s going on at the clinic and to assess what we have coming in the following day. The nurses then sort out the staffing just to make sure the department works properly.

I’ve been working at the hospital for just over 10 years. I started off in admissions and then I worked a bit in outpatients, then corporate reception, then admissions for the theatres and then this job, which I’ve been doing for 18 months.

I remember reading the job description for the admissions role and thinking it was quite a varied role and that it might be interesting. Everything moved so quickly, I applied and was suddenly working the position. You have so many other people that end up working with you in my role.

Obviously, I can’t do anything with the clinics without the booking team, they book all the patients in. If they need longer clinics or more time then I need to make sure the rooms are available. I’ll juggle things around and fit everybody in. I work with the nurses to carry out the clinics properly. I’m not patient-facing but being part of the process and the team that helps people get the care they need is very rewarding.

I know it sounds like a cliché but the team here make this place. Every department I’ve been in, there’s always been a good group of people to work with. In admissions, we used to deal with all the bed allocating, which could occasionally get stressful, but if you ever got stuck you could always ask somebody to help and you’d always get through it. Coming to work and enjoying being here is great.

Kevin Shotter, Palliative Care Ambulance Driver

I used to work for Buckingham Palace as a chauffeur and I’ve previously done long-distance ambulance driving bringing patients here from abroad. The quality of care makes this place special. Not just to the patients but their employees too. There’s a politeness about the place and a genuine interest in your wellbeing.

Day-to-day we obviously transport the patients here, but we’ve done other things. We once helped one of the Hospice patients get married, getting them to and from their wedding. It’s a very rewarding job, the most rewarding I’ve ever done. I feel appreciated here, by staff members and the patients. I find it all special, every day is special for me.

Barry Rogers, Carpenter

It feels like I’ve been here forever, I think it’s nearly 15 years. I can’t remember where I saw the advert for the job but I think they wanted a groundsman or something similar. I thought ‘that sounds interesting’. I came along for the interview, got chatting to the manager and it turned out there were a variety of jobs going. I thought, ‘this is me’. I’ve sort of found my home here.

My father was a carpenter. I must have picked up something from him, I was always being dragged off somewhere to help out. After I started here, I did a City & Guilds course in the evenings in furniture making – bench joinery to be precise, with a distinction. I’ve always liked making things from an early age, Airfix models and things like that.

How does my role work? Emails get sent to the Estates team, they sift through what needs to be done, decide who has the necessary skillset and then you get picked. It could be anything from fixing locks and doors to making new things entirely.

Keep checking back each month for more updates in our Hospital Heroes series.