Hospital Porter Career Description
The hospital porters are responsible for the handling of patients on stretchers, trolleys, beds and wheelchairs in order to transport them to and from their points of treatment, and to render assistance to the nursing staff and ward secretaries.
What am I going to do in this occupation?
When the porters arrive on duty, they must ensure that all trolleys are equipped with clean sheets and blankets, to avoid any delays when patients have to be transported. Porters daily transport patients between the different sections of the hospital such as wards, emergency rooms, operation theatres, physiotherapy and X-ray sections. Whilst transporting a patient, it is the porters' duty to see to the well being of the patient. When a patient is in a critical condition a nurse usually assists them. It is also expected of them to not give out any information concerning a patient to a relative or another person.
The porters also assist patients from the ambulance to the trolley or from the trolley to the hospital bed or operating-table. At the out-patient section the porters assist in the treatment of difficult patients, by for instance keeping the patient in the required position whilst treatment is being administered. In the orthopaedic section the porters have to wash male patients who cannot wash themselves and shave them prior to their operation. The hospital porters are sometimes expected to accompany patients to their old-age homes or other clinics, in which case the patient is transported by ambulance. They are also responsible for the safety of the patient.
The porters must ensure that the trolleys and beds of patients, who are going to receive narcosis, are equipped with 02 cylinders, and that cot sides are in good working order. They are also responsible for changing the bedclothes in theatres and for warming the beds.
Porters usually work three shifts, alternating between morning, afternoon and night shifts. Sometimes it is expected of them to work weekends according to the duty roster.
Requirements
What kind of personality do I need?
Porters should be responsible, friendly and willing to assist where required. They must have a positive attitude towards seriously and critically ill persons. The porter should be healthy and able to comply with the sometimes physically strenuous work. They should have good organisation skills in order
to work systematic and according to priorities.
Where can I work?
Hospital porters are employed by hospitals and private clinics.
Can I work for myself in this occupation?
Hospital porters cannot work for themselves in this occupation.
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