One happy family: PSAs at Broadmeadows Hospital
The tight-knit family of 20 Patient Services Assistants (PSAs) at Broadmeadows Hospital and Craigieburn Centre have been keeping their sites spotlessly clean, while never losing banter and a genuine connection with each other.
Wendy Nicol, Operations Manager, PSA & Cleaning Services, said the team has a really high standard of cleaning, highlighting the way their PSA Supervisor, Snezana Velevski, works with her team, and the health service as a whole.
“She keeps on top of everything. COVID-19 has presented challenges to some of our staff. We have staff who had to homeschool their children, staff who have been unwell, so it has been a challenging time to keep on top of it. The team here have managed everything perfectly, and there has been no change to our patient care. We had fantastic feedback from all of the NUMs on wards about how smoothly everything has continued to go thoughout the COVID-19 period. The PSAs, led by Snezana, need to be commended for the role they have done,” Wendy said.
“There has been an increase in the amount of high touch cleaning they had to do, like door handles and toilets. It was a seamless process on the surface, but a lot going on in the background to keep everything running,” she said.
Snezana looks after her 20 PSAs like her family – they would often get coffees together, sometimes donuts, share a few laughs and any other news they may have.
She has been working at Northern Health for the last seven years, starting as a PSA in Emergency, before coming to Broadmeadows. She has been enjoying her role and the ability to talk to everyone on site.
“I work with everyone in the hospital – from cleaners, nurses, managers and this role really keeps me busy. I love it because it’s not just a role where you sit in the office, it’s a people-facing role,” she explained.
“Snez is our problem solver – she knows what to do, how to get it and where to find it. We would be lost without her here,” Wendy added.
In her free time, Snezana is a passionate cook, gardener and has recently welcomed her second grandchild. “Staff already know this about me, we share everything here,” she added.
Snezana is very happy at her role – “I don’t want to go anywhere from this hospital, it’s like a home. I had opportunity to move on, but I really like it here,” she said.