top of page

NHS ‘Community Hero’ Scoops National Porter Award

A new national award-scheme recognising the work and dedication of NHS hospital porters has today announced its first winner and a special posthumous award.


The MyPorter Awards recognise the work and dedication of NHS portering teams, who, like many NHS staff, have taken on extra responsibilities, worked additional shifts and gone the 'extra-mile' to help hospitals cope with the pressures of the Covid pandemic.


The awards attracted entries from across the UK, with many hospitals nominating more than one individual and, in some instances, entire teams.


The winner of the first MyPorter Awards for 2020 is Claire Blackhall, a Chargehand Porter at Wansbeck General Hospital, Northumbria. Despite suffering the personal loss of family members, single Mum, Claire, continued to work full-time, not taking a single day off. She performed her role with extraordinary humanity, listening to patients and helping wherever she could, despite her personal agonies. On top of all her hard work, Claire is also training to become a volunteer coastguard – something she has chosen to do as a means of giving back to her local community. Tracey Smith, Hotel Service Officer Facilities for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust, commented, “This is a fantastic achievement; I am immensely proud of Claire's approach to work and the support she gives not only to our patients but to the wider team and staff at Wansbeck General Hospital."


Claire wins the MyPorter Award 2020 trophy, and a donation of £250 will be made to a charity of her choice. A further £250 charity donation goes to the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust’s charity partner, ‘Bright Northumbria’ https://www.justgiving.com/NHCCF)


A further special posthumous award will honour the late Dennis Southern, also a porter with the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust from 2007 to 2021.


Sadly, Dennis passed away on 1st February 2021, leaving a legacy of dedication, hard work, respect and compassion. For these reasons, the judges have created the Dennis Southern Award – for endeavour, which will be presented to the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital where Dennis worked.


The Dennis Southern Award will be awarded annually to an outstanding individual in addition to the awarding of the annual MyPorter Award.


Claire and Dennis’s stories personify putting the needs of others before their personal difficulties. The following notable entries, each deserving special mention, show just how difficult the judges found the job of choosing only one worthy winner.


Richard Barrow and Mark Sadler from George Eliot NHS Trust were typical nominations. Whilst transferring a patient receiving end-of-life care, they overheard the patient asking his wife if he could have a taste of his favourite ice-cream one last time. Richard and Mark promptly went to the local shop, bought the ice-cream with their own money and took it to the patient. This small act of kindness created a precious moment of joy for the patient and earned Richard and Mark the family's gratitude.


Lauren Ross represents the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Lauren deserved special mention for her vigilance when she noticed that a patient she had previously delivered for an X-ray had deteriorated, becoming unresponsive. Lauren raised the alarm; a crash call was made, and the patient transferred to the resuscitation unit. Had Lauren not been so attentive or quick-thinking, a very different outcome may have resulted. Paul Hynes from the Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital has been an unsung hero to his colleagues and patients. Despite having been very poorly with Covid himself, Paul returned to work as quickly as he was able to help his colleagues. He has covered additional shifts, plugging gaps in the team numbers in whatever ways he could. He's also been a wellbeing champion, supporting staff who have struggled with the emotional strain of dealing with Covid patients, day-in, day-out. He has been recognised for professionally and compassionately supporting his colleagues.


Commenting on the reasons for introducing the awards, Richard Iveson of GlobalView, creators of MyPorter, explained, "Porters are often the unsung heroes of the NHS, and they put in a lot of gruelling hours of hard, physical and emotional work. If you took the porters out of a hospital, nothing would work; it would grind to a halt. They’re a vital cog in the machine for every hospital, none more so than during the Covid-19 pandemic. We wanted to create an opportunity for NHS Trusts to honour their porter heroes publicly." Runners-up, included: Paul Hynes, nominated by Sharon Hindley (Liverpool Heart & Chest hospital), Richard Barrow & Mark Sadler, nominated by Paul Sylvester (George Eliot Hospital) & Lauren Ross, nominated by Nikki O'Brien (Leeds General Infirmary). Notable mentions go to: David Beattie, nominated by Phil Hall (Hexham General Hospital), Joe Cooper, nominated by Martyn Abbott (Maidstone Hospital) & Michael Rainbird, nominated by Mark Lepine-Williams (Frimley Park Hospital).




We're delighted to tell you all about how we have been working closely with Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which has played a key role in the development of our MyPorter porter task management solution system - it has seen a reduction in the burden on their helpdesk as well as productivity and the effective prioritisation of patients requiring urgent and rapid care, among other great benefits. You can now read more about this via our new case study, which can be downloaded here, by clicking the link below the image:




Following the Government’s acknowledgment of the need to invest in Emergency Departments and improved patient flow during annual winter pressures coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, a £300m capital fund has been introduced, which will be shared amongst 117 Trusts and must be utilised by the end of the year. In light of this, GlobalView Systems has introduced a new ED functionality bespoke to its rapid and reactive nature within its innovative MyPorter porter task management system, specifically designed to help Trusts increase the efficiency of their ED portering during the winter months and beyond.


MyPorter was developed following extensive consultation with portering teams in over 100 NHS Trusts, and has been designed to meet the particular needs of the porters and managers. The specialist software uses data insight and effective reporting to clearly identify and predict peaks in demand, and enable resource to be planned accordingly. Its latest enhancement has been specifically developed in recognition of the challenges faced by EDs to deliver rapid responses.


The fast-paced nature of EDs often means that action is prioritised over recording information. Portering tasks can be managed using radio, phone or whiteboards rather than software to save valuable time. However, the resulting inability to track, review and analyse activity makes it difficult to assess patterns in demand, and where and when resources can be best deployed. The MyPorter ED Tool provides a fast track dashboard to enable portering requests to be created within seconds, linking to the MyPorter software to allow for management reporting and trend analysis.


Tasks are distributed via text message to radio handsets or android devices, which means no patient information can be overheard, enhancing patient dignity and reducing noise in the hospital environment. The system also records paused events, the reason, their duration and location, making it easy to identify and address delays and pinch points. A full audit trail can be accessed if needed, and any service queries easily resolved. MyPorter also features the KPI Settings Report Tool which enables specific Key Performance Indicators to be interrogated and bespoke reports to be produced.


Matt Wright, CEO at GlobalView Systems said: “Portering is an essential function within hospitals, with many other departments and services reliant on its effective operation. With Emergency Departments under immense pressure to deliver time critical treatments, the efficient movement of patients and equipment is crucial. We developed the ED tool to support Trusts in planning to ensure the right levels of resource are in the right place at the right time. This new feature will be available as a free upgrade to all existing MyPorter users, and included for any new customers. The Government funding requires projects to be operational by 2021, so GlobalView is here to work in partnership with Trusts to secure funds before they are no longer available. Our team can be contacted for advice on how they can maximise this urgent opportunity to increase capacity in Emergency Departments as they face one of the toughest winters known to the NHS.”


For more information, contact myporter@globalviewsystems.co.uk

bottom of page