THE benefits of bevelled corridor edges probably don't keep many people awake at night.

However, this sort of advanced architecture has improved Denise Sherwood's life immeasurably.

The housekeeping service manager, who works for contractors ISS at The Royal, has spent most of her working days in pursuit of the ultimate in cleanliness.

Germs are her enemies, and there are plenty of them with which to do battle in a hospital environment.

In almost 30 years' service at the old Worcester Royal Infirmary, Mrs Sherwood faced an uphill struggle to keep the wards sparkling as the old buildings conspired against her.

In comparison, the new facilities virtually roll over and beg to be cleaned. "There have been so many changes," she says enthusiastically. "This has been a really exciting move. It's an environment that I can keep clean.

"It's a new building, with bevelled corners and suitable flooring. We've got new machinery and the staff all have new uniforms.

"It's a pleasure to clean the new hospital, and the staff like it as well."

Hygiene is taken very seriously at the hospital. A housekeeper initiative has been introduced, which involves housekeepers being posted on each ward to liaise with the matrons and ensure high standards of cleanliness are being maintained.

It has also recruited an extra 130 domestic staff to work at the hospital and the surrounding community hospitals.

In total, there are 210 members of the housekeeping team, consisting of housekeepers, assistant housekeepers (cleaners) and hostesses, who look after the wards' kitchen areas.

Despite the size of this team, and the quality of the facilities, keeping the building in good condition is still a mammoth task.

Miles

"There are 14 miles of corridors to clean," says Mrs Sherwood excitedly. "We do that through the night and it takes five hours to clean all the corridors.

"We then give them a second clean."

Corridor cleaning is done with the help of the Swingo, a time-saving motorised contraption driven through the hospital.

"We don't need to polish the floors and we don't do half as much mopping as we used to," says Mrs Sherwood.

Linen is now dealt with by sub-contractors, which has, apparently, improved the standards in this area.

"They have standards that they have to meet and we reject anything that's sub-standard," she says.

Despite all the improvements and technological breakthroughs that have occurred in the cleaning world, Mrs Sherwood says some things don't change.

"The best thing we can clean with is ordinary household detergent," she says.

PORTERS at The Royal have just about got to grips with the hospital's huge maze of corridors and wards and the team has become a well-oiled machine, keeping everything running smoothly from department to department.

Portering co-ordinator Tony Stead is in charge of the 38-strong team, which is responsible for tasks such as collecting linen, sorting out post and pushing wheelchairs and trolleys.

He explains that the team is split between three shifts, providing 24-hour cover and moving patients from ward to ward.

"It's a full-time job," he says. "All the shifts are really hard and very busy. We have to cover the whole hospital. There aren't many large porters!"

Experienced porter Richard Brown says the job has been made easier by the recent introduction of radios.

"The two-way radios are really good," he said. "We used to go on just bleeps. They're a tremendous help.

"The old hospital had a lot of character, but the new one is very clean and modern and patient-orientated. You need to get used to your area, but it's a nice hospital to work in."

THE 25 members of the hospital's switchboard and helpdesk have to deal with 90,000 phone calls a month from their base in the building's basement.

Kevin Wakefield, telecommunications manager, says the team also has to deal with internal calls and emergencies and put out requests for assistance to porters.

They are judged by their speed of response, and they also have to deal with 81,000 calls to the helpdesk.

"They need to have a good telephone manner and be able to reassure the public," said Mr Wakefield.

"It's a busy job. They also have to deal with alarms and emergencies."