Everyday Heroes: Mike Oldham
In this series we’re celebrating the people on the ground at Onward going above and beyond during this tough time. Today our Head of Wellbeing and Social Investment Nicola shares hers.
Cleaners we salute you
All the cleaners on our sheltered schemes have been beyond amazing.
We went into lockdown over seven weeks ago and the cleaners have not stopped. They’ve had anti-bacterial cleaners and mops at the ready and have done over and above what has been asked of them.
They have been cleaning every day, which has included all the touch surfaces in communal areas, every door handle, every front door – anywhere our customers could have touched.
Whilst everyone has been working at home, the cleaners have tirelessly turned up on the front line each day, even when we have had positive cases of COVID-19 on the schemes.
They have even kept some of our older customers going, with their positive attitudes and smiles, assuring them that ‘everything is going to be ok’.
Without their dedication there’s no way we could have continued with the fight against coronavirus. They have kept our schemes safe and clean and have all played a big part in reducing the spread of this terrible disease.
Amazing work Mike!
In particular we’d like to thank Mike Oldham, who’s covering two schemes while his colleague has to self-isolate. He’s maintaining a very high standard of cleaning and disinfecting, and is a constant that customers find reassuring.
He also went into the schemes over the Easter period, even though he doesn’t work Fridays, and always calls the scheme manger if he spots any other issues whilst there.
Mike’s been assisting customers as needed whilst maintaining social distance and checking on customers when the scheme manager is unable to contact them.
He’s helped with the fire alarm testing and been doing the tumble drier lint cleaning in both schemes, printing off visitor sheets when they run out and delivering Onward letters to all flats. These are just a few of his tasks whilst he’s out and about.
He’s also been hard at work installing hand sanitizers in both schemes and is just generally being fantastic.
We couldn’t be prouder of Mike and the cleaning team as they continue on the front line, cleaning and smiling to make a positive difference to our sheltered customers’ lives.
For more information about how we’re tackling coronavirus visit our update page
