Porter Phil hangs up his uniform after 43 years

Photo: (L-R) Belinda Williamson – Modern Matron, Phil Beckerson – Porter, and Sue Hills – Ward Manager

A long-serving Porter who has spent more than four decades ensuring that services at Kelling Hospital run smoothly is to retire this week after spending 43 years in the NHS.

Phil Beckerson joined the hospital, now run by Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCH&C), in 1971 and worked in the theatres for around 14 years before becoming a Porter in the mid-1980s. The 64-year-old has worked in the same job ever since, carrying out a range of tasks to help the everyday running of the hospital, including moving equipment, transporting patients, delivering post and emptying bins.

He will hang up his uniform for the last time when he retires on March 25, and is looking forward to spending more time with his three grandchildren and travelling the north Norfolk coast.

“When the job at Kelling Hospital was advertised, I saw it as an opportunity and grabbed it,” said Phil, who worked in a sawmill in Weybourne and the council’s roadworks team before joining the NHS. “The hospital was incredibly busy in those days, and my job in the theatres was to help make sure everything ran smoothly.

“My responsibilities included getting the theatres set up for surgery, moving patients in and out, washing and scrubbing the instruments after the operation and taking out rubbish and the laundry. I really enjoyed the job, and have liked every aspect of my portering job as well.

“There are a really nice group of people working at Kelling, and we go out socially and get on well. It’s also nice to get the chance to chat to patients when I go onto the wards to empty the bins and do other little jobs.

“I have no regrets and am proud of everything I’ve done in my career, and have worked hard and enjoyed it at the same time. It’s also really nice when people appreciate the work you’ve done and say thank you for your efforts.”

During his retirement, Phil plans to spend more time exploring the coastline from his base at home in Holt.

“If the weather is right I’ll go down to Sheringham and get on the coast hopper and visit Blakeney and Wells,” he said. “I really like travelling so will enjoy that.

“I’m also looking forward to seeing more of my two grandsons and granddaughter and putting my feet up a bit.”

Sue Hills, Ward Manager at Kelling Hospital, said: “Phil’s dedication and hard work behind the scenes has been invaluable in the smooth running of the hospital for many years.

“His contribution to the NHS in north Norfolk over his long career is really inspiring and, on behalf of our staff and local patients, I’d like to thank him for everything he’s done.

“Phil will really be missed when he moves on, but we all wish him a very happy retirement.”

 

Hundreds satisfied with NCH&C’s care

Hundreds of people who have shared their views on Norfolk’s community health services say they are satisfied with the care they have received, figures have shown.

More than 2,100 people have given feedback on services provided by Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCH&C) since April 2013, using either the Friends and Family Test (FFT) or its predecessor, which was called the Net Promoter Score.

Overall scores for the Trust’s 12 community inpatient wards have consistently remained above the Trust’s benchmark of 76, with an average score of 79 out of a possible maximum of 100 and a peak in October of 88. A total of 450 of the patients who were discharged between April 2013 and the end of February shared their views on the services they received.

Elsewhere, 1,700 of the Trust’s Community Nursing and Therapy (CN&T) patients have fed back since the service adopted the FFT in July 2013, also recording an average score of 79. NCH&C is thought to be one of the only NHS Trusts in the country to use the FFT to ask patients about services provided in their own homes.

The FFT enables Trusts to calculate a comparable patient experience score for services by measuring the proportion of people who would be ‘extremely likely’ to recommend the service to their loved ones against the proportion of those who are indifferent or would not recommend the care they received.

Christine Little, NCH&C’s Patient Experience Lead, said: “We are really pleased that so many people have told us they would be happy to recommend the Trust’s services to their friends and family. Feedback from patients helps us to identify where we are performing well, while also highlighting areas where further improvements could be made.”

In total, 62 of NCH&C’s teams are now using the indicator, while the Trust is looking to roll out a staff-facing version of the test within the next year.

 

Pilot brings more cancer care closer to home

Cancer patients in west Norfolk are now receiving specialist support closer to home as part of a pilot designed to bring more care into community settings.

The Transforming Cancer Care in the Community Project has seen Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCH&C) set up a new team of five community cancer nurses to visit patients in their own homes and ensure their needs are met.

They are currently working with a case load of 40 patients each, helping them to recover from cancer. By acting as a constant point of contact for these patients, the community cancer nurses aim to help people to deal with the long-term consequences of cancer, promote self-management, answer any medical questions, and support people with the emotional impact.

It is hoped that this will help people in their recovery, enabling them to live as independently as possible, including returning to work where appropriate.

The team is also providing support to people who are still undergoing treatment or who have developed palliative care needs. Acting as a bridge between services, they ensure people can access personalised care which is tailored to their needs by joining up care which is delivered by NCH&C’s teams, as well as services provided by the Trust’s partners.

The pilot aims to help patients to access more specialist care, advice and information in their own homes or at their GP practice, while reducing the need for them to go into hospital or see their GP unnecessarily. As part of the pilot, NCH&C is working with GP practices in King’s Lynn, Swaffham, and coastal areas to identify suitable patients.

Kerry Jones, a Team Lead in West Locality who is leading the pilot for NCH&C, said: “This pilot is enabling patients who have been diagnosed with cancer to access even more joined up, specialist care in the comfort of their own home and in their local community.

“Our team will help to answer any questions patients and their carers may have, which will hopefully allay their fears, and ensure they are able to easily access the support they need from both our Trust and our partners.”

The project is one of a number of schemes being run across the region to look at innovative models of care for cancer patients, and has been supported by investment from the East of England Strategic Clinical Network and Anglia Cancer Network. Funding for the west Norfolk pilot was secured by the West Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group.

The pilot began towards the end of last year and is due to run until 2015. It will be evaluated by a team of Health Care Business analysts at the University of East Anglia, who will consider whether community-based care is better for patients, more cost-effective, sustainable, and reduces a reliance on acute hospitals.

www.norfolkcommunityhealthandcare.nhs.uk 

 

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