NHS DG Portering Team

Developing our work life experience

Having restructured our Portering Service we have a new management structure. The Portering Team have never really had a dedicated management structure above them and have only been included in the wider Support Services Team, which has left them feeling, to a certain degree undervalued.

We have listened to concerns and suggestions made by our team and have developed an action plan to better their work life experience. 

The Team asked for better training and development, so we have introduced a more structured training programme to bring the skills and attributes of the Team more in line with what we would expect it to be within the role. Key areas highlighted by the team were use of fire fighting equipment and mental health trauma, both are new areas of training not offered before. 

We hope the mental health training gives the team an understanding of what mental health is and how to recognise it in themselves, their work colleagues, family and friends. Hearing the difficult situations the team can experience on a day to day basis it was felt this would be a useful piece of training.

The Team would like more of a voice within the department that can deal with their concerns and suggestions that are more relevant to them, so they now have a Team liaison representative who they can raise issues with and give feedback at the Support Services Liaison Group Meeting. 

Going forward this can only improve the relationship between our Portering Team as a group of individuals and between the team and management and this, we feel can only be achieved through strong lines of communication.