5 minute read
A day in the life of a patient transport attendant
By Maureen McCarthy
Rupert Perry officially retired from his role as a patient transport attendant at the Montreal Children’s Hospital (MCH) in January this year but he’s very happy that his retirement has been put on hold for now. With several dozen staff working as patient transport attendants across the Glen site of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and the Montreal General Hospital, Rupert has been keeping busy replacing people for vacations and sick days.
Patient transport attendants play a key role in care delivery by ensuring that patients get to their tests, procedures and treatments in areas throughout the hospital such as medical imaging, cardiology, respiratory medicine and more.
Always On The Move
Shortly after the Glen opened in 2015, Rupert started working in patient transport at the MCH. Although he’d spent the previous 30 years in the same role at the Royal Victoria Hospital, working with children and adolescents was completely new. He soon discovered that it was a great fit for him.
As soon as Rupert arrives at work, he’s in touch with the dispatch team, which is part of the MUHC Procurement and Logistics Directorate, to find out what his day will look like in terms of patients who need transport to test areas and clinics. Add to that, there are always requests from the Emergency Department (ED) to bring children for x-rays and other tests, or move them to one of the units for admission. On a typical day, he’ll interact with about 15 patients and their families.
Rupert carries a Spectralink phone so he can respond to requests as quickly as possible, whether the calls come from the dispatch team, from the unit or clinic itself, or both. Sometimes children have to go for multiple tests and Rupert is often coordinating several patients at a time. As he does all this, he also takes into consideration how sick or fragile a child is.
“I always work it out with the staff in the test area, but my experience also tells me what to do,” he says. “For example, if a child from the Hematology-Oncology Unit has to go for radiation, I make sure to pick them up immediately after they’re finished treatment so they can get back to their room as quickly as possible.”
Rupert is also part of the team of 14 people at the Glen that responds to code blue (cardiac arrest) calls. Whenever he hears a call on the overhead announcements, he has to go immediately in case the person must be brought to the ED or one of the intensive care units.
It’s not only patients for whom Rupert is responsible. He often moves cribs and beds to where they’re needed, and sometimes is responsible for delivering samples for testing. “In March 2020, I brought what I think was the first
COVID-19 specimen from the MCH Emergency to the Research Institute,” he says. “It was just before the pandemic was declared. We really didn’t know much then, so I was a bit scared to carry it.” He didn’t get COVID-19 at the time, but like many people, he did eventually come down with it in 2022.
Building Valuable Relationships
Rupert knows many staff throughout the hospital’s clinics and test areas, as well as on the inpatient units, and he has developed friendships with many nurses, doctors and PABs. Through them, he has learned about tests and procedures at the hospital, and this knowledge helps him provide reassurance to the patients and families he brings to appointments.
“Sometimes when I see that they’re very nervous — and that could be children or their parents — I’m able to tell them that the test is not going to hurt, or it’s quick, or it’s simple,” he says. “And I always try to make them smile.” He adds that working in pediatrics requires a special set of skills. “You have to be sensitive and caring, but also strong.”
He sometimes gets to know families fairly well when their child has a long stay at the hospital, and says it’s very rewarding and a “priceless feeling” to see them eventually go home. “And sometimes when they’re back for follow-up appointments, they’ll flag me down to say hello.”
Rupert says his work ethic is to “get things done” and he finds his days go by incredibly quickly because they’re always full. “I enjoy every day that I come to work and I’m always happy to be back at the MCH,” he says. “I take great pride in being efficient and responsive to everyone who counts on me. I absolutely love what I do.”
