Doing the rounds on the wards

Forget the TV images of ER, Casualty and Always and Everyone. There are hundreds of workers behind the scenes who keep hospitals ticking over smoothly. Patrick Butler joins the ancillary workers

ANCILLARY workers are the National Health Service's "invisible" workers: nurses and doctors may get all the glamour and the glory, but without these essential support staff NHS hospitals would simply grind to a halt.

"The public only see the hospital staff as doctors and nurses, without realising that the hospital team would not function if the ancillary link was missing," says Carles Martinez, a catering assistant at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford. The work - which encompasses a range of jobs from portering to cleaning - can be demanding, and the financial rewards are far from immense. But on the positive side there are personal benefits from serving the public as part of the NHS. Len Hockey, a porter at Whipps Cross Hospital, Leytonstone, and assistant branch secretary for the main ancillary union Unison, says: "I work with a lot of interesting people and feel I am an integral part of the healthcare team, delivering a service to the patient. There's a lot of job satisfaction. "On the minus side, you work longer hours than other staff, and it's low paid. You need to come into this line of work with your eyes open. It is physically hard; a porter will walk miles round the hospital every week in the course of his job." Ancillary workers are not involved directly in providing health care, but patients and their relatives often look to them for help and reassurance, whether to get directions round the hospital, or needing a cup of tea and a chat. "You can contribute in a positive way. People in hospital are often angry or upset, and as a porter you find yourself, from time to time, chatting with them, perhaps bringing comfort to a patient who is feeling low or anxious," says Mr Hockey. Many ancillaries interact a lot with patients and visitors: "It's hard work, but I like the people I meet. The patients are all right. They know me very well and we talk. It's very friendly," says Michael Knight, a cleaner at St Ann's Hospital in Harringey. Other benefits include flexibility - people with family commitments can often work part-time with hours that suit their personal circumstances - and training - many hospitals offer National Vocational Qualifications or Return to Learn courses. The work may be tough, but other jobs are tougher. As Sue Keating a domestic and housekeeper at St Ann's says: "I joined the NHS after bringing up a family. I found myself thinking: 'I'm getting paid for hoovering!'" * NHS ancillary work is normally advertised in the pages of local newspapers and job centres. Alternatively you can find out about vacancies by writing to the hospital director of personnel. Healthy service: Len Hockey (top); Carles Martinez (middle); Sue Keating (bottom) Joining the troops on the front line Sue Keating, Domestic and housekeeper, St Ann's Hospital, Haringey. " I clean for two hours then I housekeep for the patients on an elderly day ward, which involves washing up, making them cups of tea and generally helping keep an eye on them. It's very physical work - you certainly know about it at the end of a shift. But you get a sense of pride when you have done it. I chat to the patients; a lot of them are suffering from depression and they need a chat or a cup of tea." Carles Martinez, part-time catering assistant, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford "Catering is a very serious job because the consequences of not having knowledge of hygiene and health and safety have serious implications for the wellbeing of patients and staff. It's not just about serving up a hot meal, you need to make sure the food meets the patient's dietary needs." Len Hockey, porter, Whipps Cross Hospital, Leytonstone. "We are responsible for ensuring the arrival on time of the patients in any department of the hospital for an operation, x-ray or whatever. You are the transport system of the hospital without which nurses and doctors would not be able to do their job."

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