Interserve cleaning supervisor Paul Hicks has spoken of his pride about being at the forefront of Poole Hospital’s response to COVID-19.
The 61-year-old is one of 170 people working for the company on a facilities management contract for the Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Interserve cleans all of the hospital’s clinical and public areas, including window cleaning and grounds maintenance.
Paul has been with the company since 2017 but has worked at the hospital for 20 years.
He said: “There’s an army of people working together as a team and it’s fantastic to be part of the hospital’s response to COVID-19.
“Whether it’s kitchen staff, logistics, cleaners, doctors, nurses – every job role - we are all absolutely committed to doing the best we can.”
Paul is responsible for a team of workers who clean public areas and wards which are used by COVID-19 patients. When carrying out cleans of infected areas, the team wears the proscribed Personnel Protective Equipment and clean the area thoroughly before using a machine which sprays disinfectant to kill all the germs.
The father-of-four said: “We all work extremely hard. We also use anti-bacterial cleaning agents and use multiple methods to ensure the area is hygienic. This method gets everything.
“I started as a temporary worker in 2000 and never left and that’s because I love it. I like joking with the patients, keeping spirits up and obviously cleaning to ensure the environment is in the best possible shape it can be to support people to get well and hospital staff to work safely.”
Interserve provides a range of security, cleaning, catering, maintenance and portering services to 11 NHS hospitals, six healthcare facilities, the London Ambulance Service and the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service.
ITV 1’s News Team visited Poole Hospital last week and spent the morning interviewing colleagues and featuring how people are working to support patients with COVID-19. ITV correspondent Lizzie Robinson and her film crew followed Paul during his morning round and the footage can be seen here: please click.
The 61-year-old is one of 170 people working for the company on a facilities management contract for the Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Interserve cleans all of the hospital’s clinical and public areas, including window cleaning and grounds maintenance.
Paul has been with the company since 2017 but has worked at the hospital for 20 years.
He said: “There’s an army of people working together as a team and it’s fantastic to be part of the hospital’s response to COVID-19.
“Whether it’s kitchen staff, logistics, cleaners, doctors, nurses – every job role - we are all absolutely committed to doing the best we can.”
Paul is responsible for a team of workers who clean public areas and wards which are used by COVID-19 patients. When carrying out cleans of infected areas, the team wears the proscribed Personnel Protective Equipment and clean the area thoroughly before using a machine which sprays disinfectant to kill all the germs.
The father-of-four said: “We all work extremely hard. We also use anti-bacterial cleaning agents and use multiple methods to ensure the area is hygienic. This method gets everything.
“I started as a temporary worker in 2000 and never left and that’s because I love it. I like joking with the patients, keeping spirits up and obviously cleaning to ensure the environment is in the best possible shape it can be to support people to get well and hospital staff to work safely.”
Interserve provides a range of security, cleaning, catering, maintenance and portering services to 11 NHS hospitals, six healthcare facilities, the London Ambulance Service and the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service.
ITV 1’s News Team visited Poole Hospital last week and spent the morning interviewing colleagues and featuring how people are working to support patients with COVID-19. ITV correspondent Lizzie Robinson and her film crew followed Paul during his morning round and the footage can be seen here: please click.