Security team

The St George’s Hospital security team work around the clock, seven days a week to ensure that the site is kept safe.

The team is made up of 22 permanent staff, three of whom are special constables. They are responsible for all security matters and in addition to regularly patrolling the site they manage the car park and traffic flow around the grounds, attend fire alarms and respond to calls from staff who are experiencing abusive behaviour. The team investigates any crimes that are reported on site, liaising closely with the police. They are also responsible for access to every ward.

Neil Dowden, deputy security manager, has been at the trust for 13 years. He said:

“I am also the chair of the board for the local Safer Neighbourhood Team who we work closely with as the hospital is one of the ‘beats’ of this team. That is why you see police officers around the hospital on a regular basis. We also work with the Wandsworth Borough Commander – it’s all part of working together.”

The job is a varied one, which the team enjoy. Neil said;

“The best part of the job is that no two days are ever the same. We deal with a variety of stuff. You can’t complain of being bored because you never know what you’re going to come in to”

A big challenge for the team is trying to meet the needs of everyone on site – patients, public and staff. Neil said:

“We work on a site that has more than 7,000 colleagues and the perimeter road is more than a mile in length, so it is a massive site to be controlled on a daily basis.”