In medical centers, porters or orderlies perform a variety of different service functions. Maintenance workers, cleaners, housekeepers, and patient aides are all examples of hospital porter jobs. People employed in hospital porter jobs, unlike most other medical center employees, do not attend medical training courses, and many porter jobs are entry-level positions filled by high school graduates.
Porters work as maintenance workers or caretakers in many hospitals, and they are in charge of performing minor repairs on non-medical hospital equipment. People who work as hospital porters are typically in charge of tasks like changing light bulbs, changing fuses in electrical devices, painting, and other types of minor repairs and maintenance. A team of porters may deal with maintenance issues in a large hospital, and these individuals will report to a supervisor or manager. The supervisor assigns work assignments and orders supplies, and in most cases, these are experienced porters who began their careers as entry-level employees rather than people with college degrees.
Patients are transported from wards to surgeries and from ambulances to the waiting room by porters. Although few porters have medical backgrounds, some basic knowledge of first aid techniques is usually required for people employed in these roles. Many hospitals provide first-aid training for porters and other employees, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Porters frequently accompany wheelchair-bound patients to visitor centers and may interact with family members, though most countries prohibit these individuals from discussing the patient’s condition or treatment.
Many people who work as hospital porters also work as cleaners or janitors for the majority of their time. These individuals are responsible for cleaning floors, bathrooms, and wards. Cleaning surgeries and other sterile environments is often the responsibility of nurses rather than porters. Some porters are also in charge of cleaning the hospital laundry, which may include washing both the patient’s clothes and bed linen. Housekeeping positions can be filled by experienced porters who are in charge of overseeing the laundry room and creating staff schedules.
While many medical facilities assign porters specific responsibilities, some hospitals employ a large number of people as porters, who may be asked to perform a variety of tasks from one day to the next. General porters are in charge of cleaning, maintenance, patient transportation, and a variety of other tasks. Some porters are also in charge of administrative duties such as filing documents and working at the front desk.