General Porter

About Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust

Serving the West Essex community, the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) is dedicated to providing compassionate, safe, and high-quality health services. It is integrated into the Neighbourhood Wave, a national initiative that enhances care by emphasizing prevention, early support, and collaboration across healthcare, social services, and voluntary organizations. This approach helps deliver care closer to home, encouraging healthier, more independent living.

As an inclusive employer with a strong commitment to staff wellbeing, flexibility, and professional growth, PAHT is recognized as a Disability Confident and equal opportunity employer, welcoming applications from all backgrounds.

Job Summary

The role of General Porter involves delivering an efficient and professional portering service throughout the hospital. The position requires cooperation with various healthcare professionals and demands a courteous attitude towards patients, visitors, and colleagues. The service operates continuously every day of the year, covering internal and external hospital areas.

Primary Responsibilities

• Transporting patients around the hospital using wheelchairs, stretchers, or trolleys as needed.
• Respectfully collecting deceased patients from wards, completing required documentation, and delivering it to the General Office.
• Distributing supplies, post, medications including controlled drugs, and food items (bread, milk) to wards and departments.
• Delivering and collecting clean and soiled linen, transporting these to designated areas or the central collection point.
• Handling pathology specimens by collecting from wards and delivering to pathology with adherence to proper procedures; also delivering blood products to departments.
• Cleaning trolleys and wheelchairs following infection control policies.
• Transporting medical records and x-rays as requested.
• Responding to communication devices professionally and ensuring radios are charged after shifts.
• Managing medical gas cylinder deliveries and preparation for use.
• Maintaining cleanliness and proper working condition of all equipment used, reporting defects promptly.
• Providing additional linen to wards outside regular hours, maintaining records accordingly.
• Using the computerized portering system for operations.
• Keeping the hospital grounds clean by managing waste bins and clinical waste disposal, coordinating with contractors when necessary.
• Managing pharmacy deliveries following established procedures.
• Moving furniture within the hospital as required.
• Conducting vehicle inspections before use and reporting faults; driving hospital vehicles responsibly and keeping them clean.
• Assuming supervisor duties in their absence to maintain service continuity.
• Assisting in emergency scenarios such as flood clean-ups or as part of the Fire/Bomb and Major Incident Teams, including air ambulance protocol support.
• Delivering and collecting meal trolleys according to schedule.
• Filling liquid nitrogen canisters for designated departments.
• Supporting department-specific tasks such as post room work and hanging curtains.
• Attending Mortuary BID’s and covering Switchboard staff breaks as needed.
• Managing departmental keys for designated areas.
• Complying with all relevant Trust and departmental policies.
• Performing any additional duties assigned by the line manager.