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Looking Smart While Doing The Rounds
Media information For immediate release
Date: 23 April 2009
Looking Smart While Doing The Rounds
Imagine working somewhere for 38 years, and only wearing three different outfits to work the whole time.
Waikato Hospital attendant Paul Phelps today celebrated the unveiling of a new attendants' uniform and his fourth style change.
Waikato Hospital attendants' new-look uniforms were the cause for celebration this morning at their first public viewing.
Designed in-house by Waikato District Health Board graphic designer Tamara Miles, and then manufactured by King St company Sport & Uniform, the uniforms now look as dynamic in vibrant blue, as the 120-strong group who will wear them.
"I was never a fan of the drab grey shirts the attendants wore," said Health Waikato chief operating officer Jan Adams.
"Attendants are often the first people patients see when they come to the hospital - they're the ones driving the shuttlebus, the ones transporting patients in wheelchairs and beds, and delivering thousands of pieces of mail throughout the hospital every day - so it's fitting they should have comfortable and presentable uniforms."
Mrs Adams said she was proud of the work Waikato Hospital attendants carried out every day, including taking 900-1000 phone calls during just one day shift.
Former board chair Jerry Rickman echoed her thoughts.
"I spent a day working as an attendant and it was one of the most rewarding but tiring day's work I've ever done," he said.
"I'm thrilled to see their new look and anytime they're short staffed I'm happy to help out. They are a great group; critical to the smooth running of the hospital."
Attendants' work affects most facets of the daily operations at Waikato Hospital.
They are the people who transfer patients from ambulance, helicopter, or car to the hospital; they transport vital clinical equipment, bloods and drugs from one area of the hospital campus to another.
Attendants are responsible for the entire mailroom system and hold both a New Zealand Post and New Zealand Courier Post contract.
They lift and turn multitudes of patients per day, and dispose of all the rubbish and linen created by a busy tertiary hospital.
They can always find you a wheelchair, or just your way around - and it's exactly these reasons that have kept Mr Phelps in the job for nearly four decades - as opposed to the uniform.
"I just love the variety of my job. No two days are the same, and we're always on the move."
Watch out for the attendants' new look which will hit the hospital corridors and wards officially next month.
ends
Waikato District Health Board
Healthy People. Excellent Care
Waikato District Health Board (DHB) employs over 6500 people and plans, funds and provides hospital and health services to more than 391,770 people in a region covering eight per cent of New Zealand.
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