Social media cheers hard-working orderly

A social media post about a Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) worker going above and beyond the call of duty has gone viral.

Rory Watkins, 38, who has been at QEH for 11 years, told Barbados TODAY that while he is pleased with the positive recognition, it’s just his job to deliver the best quality service to patients and making them feel comfortable during their stay at the hospital.

“Helping people is just something that I like to do,” said Watkins, an orderly attached to the operating theatre, who has hopes of joining the surgical team someday.

Alicia Brathwaite, the mother of 15-year-old Jarad Gibson, said she ignored Watkins’s request to not highlight his service, insisting he must be saluted.

Following her son’s surgery last Friday, Brathwaite said that as she got him settled at home, she took to social media to share their experience at QEH.

Brathwaite wrote that amidst all the negative reports about the QEH, she had to admit that every doctor, nurse, cleaner, and security guards give her excellent service.

But Watkins has left a lasting impression because he was beyond excellent, she said, adding that she was overwhelmed by the way Watkins spoke to patients and their relatives, and the love and concern he showed to others.

The mother wrote: “When you came to C8 to take him up to surgery, you spoke calmly to us. I figured you realized I was a bit scared. You carried out your duty very professionally. Although your hands were full and it looked to me there was minimum staff in your department, you just worked tirelessly without a frown.

“On Saturday morning you came back on the ward to see how my son was doing. I was in total amazement again. You said ‘young man you are going to be good, just be careful not to hurt yourself’. My son said ‘thanks but I want to go home’.

“I explained to Rory that he has to get x-rays but no one took him since it is the weekend and there were no orderlies for the ward. Your response again ‘don’t stress I could do it although I work in the surgery area, I would do it, it can’t take anything off me to do good’. I was in awe again.”

Brathwaite said that after searching for the doctors to get the necessary documents to take her son for the x-rays, Watkins even took time out to make a temporary sling for the teenager’s hand.

She continued: “After your shift, you came and checked to see what the doctors said. I told you we were waiting to get discharged and meds sorted out. You said ‘ort, I gine wait a bit because I done work since 1, just in case, so I could take him down’. This melted my heart to see that there are still good people and some of these people are not even recognized or even appreciated. I can’t even thank you enough sir for your dedication to your duties.”

For Watkins, the father of a two-year-old son, it’s all part of the service.

He said: “Anyone that knows me knows this ain’t really me. I am very to myself and it is just part of my job. It is a day’s work. Just going along my business and seek to do a little something out of my way that couldn’t cause me any harm.

“It is just a little boy that I could see his mother was more nervous than even the little boy, so I just spoke kindly to both of them and told them that everything would be fine, and that the doctor that is dealing with them is a very efficient person and he explained the surgery to me. I was supposed to go and watch it actually but I was so busy, but the next day I paid the [boy] a visit.”

Declaring himself a man of few words, Watkins said he has been receiving numerous congratulatory comments from colleagues ever since he emerged into the social media limelight.

But he stressed there are many hard workers at QEH who also deserve praise.

Watkins said: “Some people might come here with that perception that everything in the hospital is bad and they would come here with that attitude and it is only obvious some people would give them back that attitude. But I know for a fact that there is a lot of good here, much more than bad.”

After working in the Accident and Emergency where he was specialised in making casts, Watkins was selected by Senior Orderly Supervisor Roger Rice to move to the operating theatre.

Rice told Barbados TODAY that initially, the young man appeared unhappy with the transfer, but proceeded to his assignment without complaint.

The supervisor said it takes an orderly with an extremely professional approach, to work in the theatre.

Rice said: “You don’t want someone who is going to be absent from work, and you don’t want people who will be incompetent. So when I looked through the set of people I said that Rory was the suitable person at the time.

“And he went there but he wasn’t too pleased at all. But he went and he didn’t give me (any) backchat. But today I can see that the move has paid off. Rory is not a big talk person, he is kind of reserved, but he can work. I made the decision which was not favourable but I am happy today. He has made the hospital and the Caribbean proud.”

Now Watkins is finishing up a course to be an anaesthetist’s aid, with that one day soon he will join the medical team in the surgery department.

QEH Executive Chairman Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland told Barbados TODAY that Watkins represents the core values the hospital is trying to inculcate.

The hospital boss said it feels great for QEH to be spontaneously in the social media for a positive story as there is wonderful staff at the hospital who are often demoralized by bad press.

Bynoe-Sutherland told Barbados TODAY: “I have met with him and his son and I met his granny, Ms Watkins, a former housekeeper at QEH. He is a role model and credit to his family. I related to him how his story also personally encouraged me to press on with the changes that are needed. Our board and management team will recognize and reward his efforts.”

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb