On Thursday 4 July, the UK will go to the polls for the first general election since 2019, with the state of public services high on the agenda. In a special series, as the country prepares to vote for a new government, the i speaks to those on the front lines of healthcare, education, housing and finance about what a new government needs to change to improve the state of their sector. This week, we are looking at the NHS.
Len Hockey, 63, hospital porter, London I’ve worked for the NHS as a hospital porter for more than 35 years. You ensure the patient is taken to their appointment or procedures, move equipment, pick up and deposit specimens and deliver units of blood to places such as cancer care or the maternity unit . Hospital porters are a vital link in the chain of care for every patient who comes into the hospital.
We’ve been dealing with an ever-reducing real-term funding of the NHS over a protracted period of time. There aren’t as many porters as there were when I started. With the staff numbers down and cost pressures, it can feel like a production line.
There’s also been a real-terms reduction in pay. We are paid 1p above the national minimum wage. That results in people leaving.
You might get paid more working in retail than portering. It’s not good for attracting and retaining the dedication you need in the health service. I’d like to see a huge increase in the level of resourcing to bring it back to what it was more than a decade ago, a review of staf.