Housekeeping heroes

More than 4,000 people work at Medway Maritime Hospital, carrying out a diverse variety of roles, all focussed on providing the best possible care for our patients.

This means that no matter what time of the day or night you visit, there will be many members of staff working hard behind the scenes to ensure the hospital is a safe and pleasant environment for our patients, visitors and staff.

Our Housekeeping Team plays a crucial role in ensuring that the hospital remains clean – helping to prevent infections and ensuring patients remain safe. They also support the delivery of clinical care – providing important extra touches that make a real difference to our patients.

We caught up with Ann Alderson, Housekeeper to find out more: “I’ve worked at Medway for 17 and a half years, and I absolutely love my job. Housekeeping is not just about cleaning, we do lots of other duties too. You may have seen us around the hospital – if we have dark green uniforms it means we carry out general cleaning duties on the wards; if we are wearing pale green uniforms it means we are working as hostesses – helping to hand out food and all the other issues that come with that.

“A lot of housekeepers have had other careers before working in the hospital and we can bring a huge variety of life skills to our roles. We work as a team, and couldn’t fulfil our roles without relying on one another.

“Our nurses on the wards are incredibly busy, so we often help out by supporting patient families, with concerns such as accommodation and parking if they have travelled a long way.

“Sometimes patients need a cup of tea or just need a listening ear and some reassuring words. This is great for the patients but also means that our nurses have more time to do what they do best – making people well again!

“If you see us around the hospital and need some help, please don’t hesitate to stop us – we know the hospital like the back of our hand and we love a chat!”