Terry Clarke – a porter at our Bolton hospital and Head Office – recently celebrated his ten-year anniversary at SpaMedica. As a former patient driver, Terry has always played an important role in making sure our patients feel welcome and comfortable during their time here, and he has some fantastic stories to share!
I had lots of experience as a driver, but I was ready for a change of scenery. My brother made me aware of the opportunity after he applied for a role here himself, and I liked the thought of being able to interact with patients in a nice, clean, friendly environment.
It’s funny, though – when I first applied for the role, I thought I was going to be taking patients for cosmetic surgery, not cataract surgery! Anil, our founder, still needed to update the old website to reflect the business’s change of direction, so it was a pleasant surprise to find out that I would be taking patients to get their eyes sorted!
I went from leading a small team across four hospitals in the Northwest, to supervising a team of 14 drivers – all while still driving myself!
I think our biggest achievement at the time was hitting one million miles with no complaints, no missed patients, and no accidents. That’s a service record to be proud of!
I could see into the future – I knew that we were growing rapidly, and our small transport team would quickly evolve into a fleet, and I didn’t have experience with managing an operation of that size. I’d been on the road for 16 years, sometimes working long hours away from home, so I decided it was time for a change. Linda Grant made me aware of a vacancy for a porter in Bolton. I’ve always loved meeting our patients and putting them at ease, so it was the perfect solution for me. Now I work fixed hours from a fixed base, and I get to spend more time with my family.
There was a lovely AMD patient from Southport called Barbara. I drove her to her appointments for nearly two years. We’d catch up every 4-12 weeks, and during our chats, we realised that we had something in common – we both had loved ones that were unwell. Unfortunately, both my dad and Barbara’s husband passed away at similar times, and we shed some tears and helped each other through a tough time. We developed a real bond because of that shared experience, and it just shows that the job is about so much more than driving.
I used to meet people’s families when I picked them up – sometimes their pets would even come to the door to greet me, and I’d do the best I could to put them at ease, whether that was by having a chat and reassuring them about what to expect during their appointment, or recognising that they’d prefer to have a bit of quiet time before their surgery. Everyone’s different and the best part of the job is meeting people from all walks of life.
There was another gentleman who I used to pick up from Cheshire. He was already blind in one eye and had a carer to accompany him because he couldn’t see well enough to get out and about. He had a dense cataract in his other eye, and when I picked him up for his post-op appointment, I noticed his carer wasn’t with him anymore. He was overjoyed because his surgery had allowed him to see well enough to manage without one, and I will never forget how thrilled he was to get his independence back.
First and foremost, I love that it’s still a patient-focused role. It’s different to being a driver, because you don’t have a captive audience, but it’s still really rewarding to give patients a warm welcome and put them at ease. You get to see them come and go during different stages of their treatment, and even though you don’t spend as much time with them, you can still make a difference.
One recent example was an AMD patient who had been discharged after we’d done everything we could for her. I could see she was a bit unsure after her appointment, so I asked her if everything was OK. She said she didn’t really know what to do from here, so I arranged for her to have a chat with our hospital manager, Caroline, and we ensured she was referred to our Sight Support Service, who were able to signpost her to help available in her area. I received a lovely thank you card from Kirsty in our Sight Support Team for recognising that the patient needed some extra support.
I will also say that being a porter is a great way to meet lots of people from across the business and to keep up to date with everything that’s going on. I sometimes joke that it’s a bit like being a bartender, because everyone stops at the desk for a chat and to fill me in on their latest news.
The people and the culture. Even though I’ve seen a lot of new faces join the company and we’re not the small unit we used to be, we haven’t lost that closeness and camaraderie, and we still always put the patients first. That hasn’t changed as we’ve grown from four to 60+ hospitals, and I don’t think it ever will.
I’ve got five granddaughters who keep me busy, and I enjoy spending time with them. I’ve also been a gaming enthusiast since the late 70s, and I still enjoy getting immersed in that environment. My favourite games are those with a survival theme, where you’re lost in the wilderness and have to complete a variety of tasks to get to safety. I’m also involved in game testing, making sure that games offer the best user experience before they’re released to the public.
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