Today is National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day, and we're celebrating the work of our capital, estates and facilities team here at Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie by sharing some insights and stories about the important work they do.
Almost 1,500 people work in estates and facilities at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), including more than 450 CUH staff and 900 plus Medirest colleagues.
They keep our buildings and facilities running smoothly, make sure we are being sustainable and that medicines, goods and patients are where they need to be, when they need to be there.
Whether our staff are on the front-line or behind-the-scenes, they all play an essential role in our patients' journeys.
Katie Sell, CUH’s sustainability manager, was born in the Rosie Hospital! She never imagined working here, but now has a degree in climate change, and has been part of the CUH family since she graduated in 2020.
Katie’s job is to engage staff in our net zero mission, and she uses a variety of creative ways to do this, from photo competitions, workshops and social media campaigns, to building a team of green champions across CUH.
Katie says:
Staff behaviour change through engagement, education and empowerment is essential to delivering sustainable improvements and the CUH Green Plan, but one size does not fit all.
Adding: “My role allows me to look at everything from staff and their relationships with waste, to energy, to green spaces on site, and how we overcome any barriers that are there.”
CUH’s capital backlog programme manager, Martin Badcock is a longstanding CUH staffer, joining the Trust in 1996 as a mechanical craftsman, completing routine repairs and planned maintenance tasks.
He became part of the succession planning programme within the department and was able to train and gain further qualifications over time in building services engineering. Martin explained:
Over the last 20 plus year at CUH, I have undertaken several different roles including, shift technician, building systems manager and senior engineering manager. All offered great experience and allowed me to move to the role I have today.
These days, Martin manages refurbishments and upgrades to the existing hospital infrastructure, mechanical and electrical services. He works closely with CUH’s capital planning and development colleagues, as well as the building, engineering and maintenance team.
Kate Gray, is a day supervisor in the portering and logistics team. Her role is to supervise the day team porters, manage the equipment team and ensure the courtesy bus runs on time.
She enjoys the diversity of her job, from helping with ward moves, declutter work and adhoc portering activities to some far more extravagant requests, saying:
I once helped to put together a cinema in the day room of a DME ward, all from recycled furniture, and more recently, at very short notice, we were helping set out a space for a CUH wedding, supporting patients at their time of need.
Earlier this year, Kate was nominated for an award to recognise the fabulous work she does within CUH.
Craig Turner brought RAF and local authority fire service experience to CUH when he joined the fire safety team in April 2020. He's sharing his CUH story as part of National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day and Armed Forces Week (19th to 24th June).
Craig told us: "Whilst in the RAF I had gained many qualifications specific to my trade, I also acquired many transferable skills that can be used in multiple environments."
After he left the RAF, Craig joined Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service where he found his life’s purpose, gaining job satisfaction and making a difference to many people’s lives.
Unfortunately, in 2014 I was involved in a severe road traffic collision whilst I was returning home from work, my injuries although not life threatening were life changing.
Telling us: "I was retired from a career that gave me everything. This was a game changing chapter in my life, unfortunately due to not having control over my departure from the brigade, it again opened a huge void and awoke my anxieties."
When he started in his role at Addenbrooke's, Craig saw parallels between watching the NHS deliver an operational response to the challenges of Covid-19, and how the RAF works, saying:
"I started to recognise the similarities of the RAF to the NHS, in the RAF we had pilots to support, in the NHS we have our clinical teams.
"They need trades working behind the scenes in isolation completing their jobs, but collectively deliver operational excellence.
"This time the trades are, Drivers, Carpenters, Heating Engineers, Security, Cleaners, Fire etc. all contained on one site."
At last I could fill the void and feel accomplished when driving home from work. I’m feeling very valued and I know I make a positive difference every day.
Inspired by our staff stories?
Visit our careers website to find out how you could join our team here at CUH.