#12DaysofHiddenHeroes: Judit Balazsi
In the lead up to Christmas, we're shining a light on #12DaysofHiddenHeroes.
On the tenth day of the festive season, we meet Judit Balazsi, an estates operations manager at St Bartholomew’s and The Royal London hospitals.
Tell us about your role
I have to ensure all daily tasks and projects are allocated to the correct teams, monitor their progress and make sure that our patients and colleagues are safe in our buildings at all times.
I also make sure that departments are updated so all operational teams (clinical and non-clinical) know what’s happening in their building.
What might surprise people about your role?
The greatest thing about being an engineer is that we’re here to make everything possible.
At the same time, it’s never a miracle that everything is in working order: the lift goes up and down, the lights work and the toilet flushes. There is lots of background work going on 24/7 to make sure people can switch the light on or can use the lift.
Needless to say, these are only the smaller tasks, but we also have water to run, heating, cooling and ventilation to deal with as well which can be very challenging sometimes.
Proudest patient moment?
There was a patient with a walking stick trying to go to the bathroom in the basement below Maggie’s after her cancer treatment. She was very weak and the lift was out of order.
I walked down with her and held her arm to make sure she was safe.
She was very thankful and I decided that I’ll wait for her outside the bathroom to escort her back up.
When she realised this she was very happy, smiled and said to me: “After my son you are my favourite person in the world.”
It melted my heart and made me remember that being nice definitely pays off.
How will you be spending the holidays?
Sadly due to the current situation I cannot go home to be with my family and friends, so I’ll spend Christmas in the UK.
A good friend of mine heard about this and invited me over for Christmas Day, so we’ll have a nice time together with some lovely food and maybe a glass of wine… or five.