A day in the life of Johariel Peniano, Housekeeper at Parkside

In the latest blog for our new ‘A day in the life of’ series, we’re delighted to be joined by Johariel Peniano, Housekeeper at Parkside Hospital. We learn about Johariel’s role, hear about his favourite bits of the job and learn about the attributes needed to succeed in the position. Continue reading to find out more…

Johariel, thanks for agreeing to take part! To start off, tell us a bit about you?

“No problem – thanks for inviting me to join. I’m really excited to write for the Parkside Health Matters Blog and was so happy to see the articles when the blog launched a few weeks ago.

So, a bit about me. My name is Johariel and I’ve been working at Parkside for over six years now. I really enjoy my work and my time at the hospital. My hobbies include singing and playing cards! I like to keep busy in my time outside of work.”

What does a typical day in your role look like?

“In my job as Housekeeper I work to maintain cleanliness and a germ-free environment at Parkside. So there is a lot of cleaning to do which I enjoy. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has made it even more important to be rigorous in cleaning protocols.

Since the pandemic we have worked harder as a team to maintain cleanliness to ensure all our facilities are safe for patients and staff. It’s a real honour to have such an important job.

I am also responsible for maintaining an inventory of cleaning materials and of properly storing housekeeping equipment and/or materials like brushes, brooms, disinfectants, rags, and hand gloves.

The role of a housekeeper is so important in a hospital that no hospital facility can do without them.”

Sounds interesting! So what’s your favourite part of the job?

Good question! I enjoy every aspect of my job but I most enjoy helping patients. After all, that is why we are all here – to help and serve our patients. Apart from that, I love working in such a great team. I also enjoy all of my work as it is really rewarding.

I have good managers who inspire me each and every day and it’s a real pleasure to work with a talented and committed team.

What’s been your biggest achievement so far?

“It’s hard to pick out any specific achievement but the most enjoyment and satisfaction I have is when I receive positive feedback from patients and acknowledgement from managers. It’s always good to be appreciated and valued as that is how you know you are doing a good job.”

Tell us about any notable recent patient feedback?

“I often hear patients tell me ‘thank you for your amazing work’ and ‘thank you for going the extra mile’. This type of praise and positive feedback means a lot to me because I am very passionate about my work and enjoy doing it. So to have patients recognise that I am working hard and trying to do everything possible to make their stay better and more comfortable is a very good feeling.”

Has anything surprised you about the work you do?

“Hmm, not too much. Thankfully there’s a good pattern and reliability about the work so I do so generally I know what to expect! But I do enjoy the wide variety of work and fast paced nature of the work – I guess that was a bit of a surprise. There’s no surprises in the team though: everyone works in perfect harmony and gets on very well which is really pleasing.”

What are the most important attributes a person needs in this job?

“I’d say three main things are needed in order to be a successful Housekeeper. Firstly, you definitely need strong attention to detail. You can’t and shouldn’t let anything pass you by and you should always aim for perfection.

Secondly, you need strong communication skills – important in any job but particularly in healthcare and also in Housekeeping. And finally you need to be determined and have a strong mindset. I would recommend the job to anyone and definitely suggest working at Parkside as it is a good place to work with lovely colleagues.”