Wairarapa Hospital’s orderlies now meet the compliance standards for people working in a front-line security role which will help keep staff, patients and visitors to the hospital safe.
The team has passed Certificate of Approval Security training which mean the DHB meets the compliance standards for people working in a front-line security role and is part of a new NZQA qualification.
As well as up-skilling the orderlies in the latest methods for managing conflict situations, OCS Contracts Manager Margie Lawton said the training has given the team members greater confidence in doing their day-to-day jobs.
“The training means the team feel better equipped to handle the range of situations they encounter every day. This includes knowing how to adapt their style for people from different cultures and alternative ways to de-escalate potentially difficult moments.”
The training involved a mix of paper-based and online assessments along with a practical workshop. Margie said the training provided lots of useful tips and tools the team could put in to practice right away.
“It was wonderful to see the team take on board what they’d learned and put it to use straight after the course,” she said. “We’ve now also got a more consistent understanding and approach across the team.
The orderlies that attended the training found it to be far from boring. Orderly Kerry Hargood said the training was “absolutely fantastic” and interesting from the start.
“We all enjoyed it and got so much out of it. The information was put in an understandable way and it’s taken a lot of the ‘ums’, ‘errs’ and ‘I don’t knows’ out of the job,” he said. “We now all know what we need to do, and can trust and rely on each other more as a team.”
Margie said the training was a great way for the orderlies to spend time together as a team and support each other through the programme.
“As a team that works in shifts, we don’t often get the chance to do things as a group. The training ended up being a really good way to get to know each other better and bond as a team.”
More training is planned for the orderlies in the near future, something the team is looking forward to.
“It’s great to be given the knowledge and tools to do our jobs well, which has got to be a good thing for the hospital too,” Kerry said.
In photograph: Ready for action are some of the orderlies who have taken part in the recent security training. Left to right: Dave Gates, Mike Carr, Kerry Hargood, OCS Contracts Manager Margie Lawton and Tony Saunders.
