The Porters at Carleton Clinic summed up what a Porter is on a recent visit by Tracey Sopp, our Managing Director. They said that everything that gets missed and overlooked is then down to them to look after – if no one else is going to do it, they’re the ones to get the job done. They told Tracey that knowing that their work benefits patients and the clinical teams who care for them is a key part of their pride in getting the job done. That means no two days are the same and there is a huge variety in the role.  

The job involves things like moving desks, taking items to other sites, including taking some patient belongings across to Sunderland recently, and they also deliver clinical samples to labs. They oversee the car parking on site, trying to make sure that people have parked in a way that allows others to get past safely. This has become a bit of an uphill struggle recently and they are grateful to everybody who parks appropriately.  

They are responsible for waste and recycling, including sharps bins, clinical waste and they distribute oxygen cylinders around the site, as well as dropping off and picking up laundry. They also travel to other sites across Cumbria, including the West Cumberland Hospital and the pharmacy at Silloth.  

They are the general eyes and ears around the site and recently, as they have been doing their rounds, they spotted four flat tyres where they’ve been able to get the registration of the car and informed the staff. They even go so far as to pump up the tyres for the staff member as they have a compressor to complete the service. 

Tracey had a go at sorting the mail, under the watchful eye of the Porters to make sure it was done properly, and the important hospital mail got to the right place.