Spotlight On …
Ronnie Nicholson
Senior Portering and Transport Manager
In the first of an occasional series, we caught up with Ronnie to find out a little bit more about his role and the rewards or challenges of running a multi-site portering and courier operation.
“I started at the NHS in 1982 and ever since then I’ve been involved in portering. I worked for 10 years at Aycliffe Hospital, which was a learning disability hospital, before transferring to Bishop Auckland General Hospital. Whilst I was there, I became involved in a program called “Seizing the Future” and was transferred to Darlington Memorial Hospital, and now I’m based at UHND in the role of Senior Portering and Transport Manager, heading up a busy team of staff.
The major role of portering, as far as I’m concerned, is the underpinning of clinical services. That could be anything from moving patients via wheelchairs, beds or trolleys, to medical gases, collecting the post and samples. Then there’s collection of waste, linen, drugs and our important courier service, the list is endless!
Like anyone in the NHS the most challenging part is the pressure on our resource, and its up to us to utilise them in the best way possible. This is a point where new technology really comes into play. We have tailored the Synbiotix CAFM (computer aided facilities management) system for our needs, which aids with the best use of our portering services.
The best part of my job is listening to porters interacting with patients and visitors, that’s something that’s not in the job description and can never be trained for. I think we’re very lucky with our great portering team because they demonstrate emotional intelligence in the conversations they have with our end users.
I remain very proud to work for SCL and support the NHS in the provision of this vital service.”