My Working Day:From autoclaves to dishwashers, John Power, electrician with the HSE Southeast, maintains machinery at St Luke's hospital and nearby health centres
I am based in St Luke's in Co Kilkenny which is the main acute hospital for the Carlow/Kilkenny region. I live in Carrick-On-Suir, about 25 miles away so it takes me about 40 minutes to get into work.
Although the bulk of the work involves the maintenance of the 316-bed facility, we also take requisitions from several other hospitals and health centres in the region.
Yesterday, for example, I was called out to Kilcreene Orthopaedic Hospital.
The autoclave, which sterilises the surgical instruments, had broken down and no operations could commence until it was fixed.
As is often the case I had to "gown-up" and enter the sterile area where the machine was kept. In this instance the air compressor had tripped out and the hydraulic lines had insufficient air to operate the machine.
It was a simple enough procedure - resetting the compressor, testing it and bringing the pressure back up so they could continue to use the instruments.
I have been with the HSE since 1997. I left the family business. I suppose I was lured by the thought of a more regular pay cheque.
There are two of us (electricians), along with our apprentices, based at St Luke's. The requisitions for the more regular maintenance jobs are received twice a day and then prioritised by the foreman. The more urgent jobs are phoned in.
There is a maintenance routine involved in the upkeep of these facilities, especially many of the smaller regional units that we oversee. This usually involves testing generators, checking emergency lighting and fire alarm systems.
It's not always as mundane as fixing a dishwasher or changing a light bulb. But people don't always appreciate the vast array of machinery being used at any one time in these places.
This morning, for instance, we were working on a dishwasher which was not emptying properly on a medical ward in St Luke's. A glass had broken and was stuck in the drain pump.
We were then called away to fix a problem with an endoscope in one of the operating theatres. The power had gone down and the doctors were not able to view the screens for the scopes. As it turned out it was a simple matter of a circuit breaker having tripped out.
On the whole the work is satisfying, especially when you feel you are having a worthwhile input into the running of the hospital. The other day the special care baby unit had a problem with one of the incubators.
It was only that the oxygen cell on the incubator needed changing but it was particularly satisfying to feel part of the operation there.
I suppose I aspire to do the job to the best of my ability and to be part of a quality health service.
In conversation with Eoin Burke-Kennedy