Hospital porter

Hospital porters move patients, equipment and medical supplies around a hospital.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

In your day-to-day tasks, you might:

  • move patients on trolleys or in wheelchairs between wards and departments
  • deliver clean linen to wards
  • collect waste, some of which may be hazardous
  • move furniture and medical equipment safely
  • transfer files, specimen samples and pharmacy boxes to different parts of the hospital
  • move deceased patients to the mortuary
  • deal with post and parcels

Working environment

You could work in an NHS or private hospital.

You may need to wear a uniform.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could progress to team leader or supervisor. You might need to have, or be working towards, qualifications in supervision and management.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • sensitivity and understanding
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • customer service skills
  • the ability to work well with others
  • to enjoy working with other people
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

How to become

You can get into this job through:

  • applying directly

You might find it useful to get voluntary work experience in a health or care setting.

You can apply directly to get into this job. Work experience in a healthcare setting will be useful, although not essential.

You'll normally need a good standard of literacy and numeracy. Some employers may ask for GCSEs in English and maths, or equivalent qualifications. Customer service experience can also be useful.

It might help if you have a manual handling or health and safety certificate, although your employer will train you on these when you start.

Career tips

When applying for jobs, you'll be expected to show an understanding of how NHS values apply in your work.

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a hospital porter from Health Careers.

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