The transport team

The transport team at The Christie are our May 2022 You Made a Difference award winners. The following comments were made about the transport team in the May nominations.

Judges picked the team out as very deserving winners and said that the comments made about them showed how they represent The Christie principles and behaviours.

“The transport team are responsible for booking and arranging the transport to and from the Trust for Christie patients. They liaise closely with our ambulance providers to ensure all patients who are unable to make their own way to the Trust are still able to attend for appointments, which is very important.
“The team are based on site and have face-to-face communication with patients when they are waiting for their vehicles home, as well as liaising with patients/carers via the telephone and working closely with other hospital staff. The team are always polite and friendly with patients who come to the unit and will often get to know the patients well, as some will be coming daily for a course of radiotherapy, for example. It is lovely to see when a patient knows our staff on first name basis and are able to chat like friends.
“I am really pleased to see that the team were nominated and won this award. They go above and beyond every day to make all patients feel at ease and welcomed at the Trust. It isn’t always an easy job when there are delays with vehicles due to uncontrollable measures, but every member of the team is able to communicate well with patients and explain the delays clearly.
“Each member of the team has a high level of knowledge of transport and are able to use this every day. They respect the patients and do all they can to avoid the patient waiting too long for their transport, but also ensuring they have a comfortable wait while they are in the department. They will always make the time to answer any patient’s queries that they have in relation to transport and will give them all the information that the patient needs to feel confident with the service.
“The team is currently made up of 4 staff: Charlotte (our team supervisor) Linda, Nikie and Sophie (who are our admin clerks). Linda has been within the team for a number of years and has a vast knowledge of the department. Charlotte, Nikie and Sophie are relatively new to the department, all starting within the last 11 months and have settled into the department brilliantly. Each one of them enjoy different things in their spare time: Linda likes to go on walks, Sophie likes to attend concerts and Nikie and Charlotte both enjoy spending time with their daughters.”

  - Bethany Lockwood, manager

“The team made my first visit less daunting. I was unsure of what I had to do when requesting transport home and they were all very helpful and polite and made subsequent visits daily like going to see friends. They get to know their patients by name and take the time to listen to stories from patients and give reassurance especially when patients are anxious about waiting for transport home.
“They go above and beyond their roles and for me are an integral part of visits to the hospital and deserve more recognition than they probably get. A fabulous asset to the hospital.”

  - Elaine O'Neil, patient

Has a staff member, team or volunteer at The Christie gone above and beyond in their work? You can nominate them for the monthly You Made a Difference Award.