Groote Schuur Hospital queue marshals are our heroes

Today’s Appreciation Wednesday heroes at Groote Schuur Hospital are queue marshals Lance Knowlden and Zola Bovana. The campaign seeks to give appreciation to ordinary heroes who are inspiring others during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both of them appreciate their work and colleagues during the pandemic and boast how the comradery between staff at the hospital has improved. According to them, staff seem to have positive attitudes during this time.

From Steenberg and Gugulethu respectively, Lance and Zola started working for the hospital on the same day in [6 February 2020]. As queue marshals, they are involved with the screening of patients when entering the hospital’s facilities. As no visitors are permitted during this time, the duo assists a patient’s family and friends at the entry points to receive items of food and clothing. In their important role, they ensure that patients receive the items.

For Lance, he appreciates the simple thank you he gets from patients and seeing how grateful they are for the support he provides. “It’s something small but the smiles on their faces make me happy,” he adds. Meanwhile Zola is committed to making a difference at the hospital, and says he is working hard towards achieving his goals in his career.

Both agree that the hospital management have made it easier to them during the pandemic. “They have made us feel so much safer during this time because we have enough PPE [personal protective equipment] to assist us in doing what we need to do as queue marshals. We also have been equipped with enough knowledge about Covid-19 to help us [to take the necessary steps to be safe].”

It is an anxious time for everyone, and Zola and Lance are urging people to be safe. “Stay at home and only go out for essential activities and if you must. We can see in the different areas how the numbers are increasing, so you can make that difference by adhering to social distancing and wearing your mask.”

The hospital is encouraging people to visit its Heroes of Groote Schuur Hospital Facebook page to leave a message of support to Russel and his colleagues. 

-ENDS

Photo caption: The proud queue marshals at Groote Schuur Hospital.