Furloughed holiday park entertainer from Huthwaite takes on new role as hospital porter
A furloughed holiday park entertainer from Huthwaite is brightening up patients’ lives after taking a role as a hospital porter.
Anthony Davies, from Colombia Street, was working at the Parkdean Resort, Romney Sands, Kent when he was furloughed on March 21 – on his birthday.
He returned to be with his family in Huthwaite, and as the second lock-down loomed the holiday park closed in November. So, Anthony, 20, decided to offer his services as a porter at Kings Mill hospital, in Sutton in Ashfield.
He said: “I had been so bored on furlough, and I wanted to give the NHS a hand out. It has done a lot for me, and I thought I could be a porter or do something useful. I met some amazing doctors, nurses and staff at the hospital and I really felt like I was doing something worthwhile.”
Anthony , who is a former Sutton Community Academy pupil, had spent the past two years working mainly as a children’s entertainer, supervising daytime fun and swimming pool activities.
He said: "I am a people person, and I was used to entertaining people in my resort job. I decided at the hospital, if I can make one person smile whilst being a porter I have done a good job.
"The whole experience has been amazing and it has actually inspired me now to look into a career in nursing. It is a bit of a family thing, my partner James Russell, is a nurse, as was my gran Elizabeth Davies, and I have an aunt Lesley King who is a care assistant.
“You see some very upset patients, I try to use my skills learned as a park entertainer to help in those situations, often people are anxious especially about the virus, I try to keep them calm, get them chatting and bring a smile to their face.”
“I shall probably go back to entertaining for another year, I go back to be a splash presenter at Parkdean’s resort at Cayton Bay when things reopen. I shall probably do that for another year.
"In a strange way, the pandemic has lead me to do something positive, a different career and life path to eventually train to be a nurse.”