From pub manager to patient safety: A career to be proud of
Natalie Walker didn’t set out to build a career in the cleaning industry - but today, she can’t imagine doing anything else.
At one stage, Natalie was set on being a collisions investigator, and later was a general manager in a pub.
But her career path has led her to become a Trainer Facilitator for Serco Health at The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, where she is responsible for training 600 colleagues, which includes around 200 housekeepers, who provide the catering to patients at ward level, and 400 domestics, who clean all areas of the hospital.
Natalie has found both purpose and pride in a role that blends technical expertise, people management and a deeply personal commitment to helping others succeed.
“I absolutely love it,” she says. “Because I’m dyslexic myself, I love the fact that I can help others learn and pass my knowledge on to them. It’s not always easy for somebody who’s got a learning disability, so it’s nice to be able to relate.”
That ability to relate sits at the heart of Natalie’s approach to training. She understands that no two learners are the same, and she adapts her methods accordingly. “You just have to tailor it,” she explains. “I have to change the way I look at things.”
It is all very different from what Natalie had in mind when she completed her Bachelor of Science in Crime Scene Investigation and Masters in Collision Investigation.
But the route into policing felt too long and uncertain, and instead she progressed through hospitality, working her way up to supervisory roles in pubs and hotels.
But the 70-hour working-week required of a general manager in a pub left little time for a personal life, so when she spotted a vacancy for a Patient Ambassador, supervising cleaning and catering staff at a hospital, Natalie jumped at the chance to move on.
“I already had a lot of transferable skills,” Natalie reflects. “Managing people, making sure the right staff are in the right place, making sure the job’s done properly - I was already doing that.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Natalie worked as a night manager, where demand for cleaning increased dramatically. “We went from doing five or six terminal cleans a night to 70,” she recalls. “We had close to 20 staff on a night to manage it.”
In those intense and challenging conditions, Natalie wasn’t just supervising - she was working alongside her team. “I had to be a working supervisor,” she says. “That experience gave me the skills and knowledge I now pass on to others.”
Natalie has completed a Level 3 Diploma in Leadership and Management apprenticeship and is now working on the Level 5 Learning and Development (L&D) Consultant/Business Partner apprenticeship, which have both helped her progress in her career.
She says: “I find any learning daunting, like anyone with a learning disability but Crosby, which delivers my apprenticeship, are amazing. They are so helpful and are there for anything I need.
“I am over 60 per cent through the course now and I am learning more than I ever imagined I would, but not only in how to be a learning and development partner but also learning a lot more about myself.
“I have been on a residential to Mount Cook, where I completed a lot of activities that were out of my comfort zone, but this helped increase my understanding of my own resilience and that I am actually capable of a lot when I try.
“There are so many transferable skills in life and going through an apprenticeship like this is an experience I would not think twice about doing again.”
Today, Natalie’s focus is on raising standards through training and continuous development. She is passionate about moving beyond a ‘tick-box’ approach to cleaning and helping staff understand the why behind their work - particularly in infection prevention and control.
“Before, it was just ‘do it this way because we’re telling you’,” she explains. “Now it’s about explaining how it reduces the spread of infection. Once people understand that, they’re much more engaged. That’s really important in this industry, especially with infection prevention control.”
Natalie is equally committed to reinforcing the value of cleaning staff within the healthcare system.
“We always say, without them, the hospital wouldn’t run,” Natalie says. “They’re not ‘just cleaners’ - they’re the people who make sure it’s safe and sterile.”
Natalie is keen to highlight the potential for career progression and success in the cleaning industry.
“There is progression,” she says. “You don’t have to stay in the same role forever. Look at me. I've gone from Patient Ambassador to the trainer and any of those who are on frontline staff could do my job. They already have the knowledge and skills,” she says. “We just need to give them the means to grow.”
She is also keen to highlight the rewards of working both in healthcare cleaning and the industry generally.
“I definitely recommend it. You make a difference,” she says simply. “No matter where you are, you’re making things safe and clean for someone else.
“Yeah, it's definitely rewarding. I don’t think I’ll ever leave this industry. I’ve never had as much pride in a job as I do now.”
You can find two of the apprenticeships discussed in this article on the UK Cleaning Career Development Zone here:
https://ukcleaning.org.uk/level-3-diploma-in-leadership-management/
https://ukcleaning.org.uk/cmi-level-5-management-and-leadership/