I'm Darren Taylor. I'm a joiner and I work at the Estates at North Manchester General Hospital.
I had my own business for 18 years. Decided when this opportunity came about, I’d try and go for it. Obviously age wasn’t on my side at the time, but that didn’t matter, it was my quality and my skills and what I could bring to the Estates.
Within the theatres, obviously it’s a fast moving industry, you know, you got emergencies coming in, trolleys smashing doors. So sometimes hinges come off. Bolts, locking bolts come off. Digilocks go wrong. Do what I need to do, clean up and get out before it becomes sterile.
You've got to have a bit of flexibility with it, some of it’s hard and fast. You just want to get in, do your job so they can do theirs.
I had a guy, snapped his key in his locker. A surgeon. Patients ready to be operated on, and he’s no scrubs. Can’t get to them. So flew round with my trolley. Got in it for him, whatever means I did. And he’s literally getting dressed into his scrubs while I was tidying up.
We’re all at the same level here, whether you’re a porter, joiner, plumber, chief surgeon. We’re all at the same level. One cog drops out, the links gone.
The amount of training I’ve had on the digital code locks, changing them, fixing them, repairing them. You name it, if anything goes wrong with a lock in this hospital now I feel quite confident to sort it out. Rescue and release on lift training, asbestos awareness, induction to all the machinery in the workshop.
We will turn our hands to pretty much everything within our remit. It’s not a case of, right well, I'm a joiner, I’m not doing it, it’s a case of right, I’m a joiner, fix a door, can fit a kitchen. I can do this, I can do that, but if, then you do.
It’s mainly the people I'm working with about the job, and then the satisfaction once I've completed the job over there.
