How to become a hospital porter

Official title: Hospital porters

Also called: Porter, Hall porter, Head porter, Ward porter, Night porter, General porter, Domestic porter, Hospital porter, Portering supervisor

Hospital porters perform various manual tasks in hospitals to assist nursing and domestic staff with the care of patients.

Main tasks

• Lifts, escorts and wheels patients between hospital wards
• Assists with the delivery of meals, laundry, medical supplies and post to the wards or theatres
• Moves hospital equipment and furniture
• Collects and disposes of refuse from wards and other departments
• Assists with unloading and delivery of supplies

How to become one

There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is provided Off and on-the-job. Entrants may be required to hold a driving licence.

Pay · Outlook

• Median full-time pay: £29,409 a year The middle half earn £26,060 to null.
• About 19,200 people work in this job now, and about 18,400 are projected by 2035. (-3.7%)

Related jobs

• Bar and catering supervisors
• Kitchen and catering assistants
• Waiters and waitresses
• Bar staff
• Coffee shop workers
• Leisure and theme park attendants

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Questions people ask

How do I become a hospital porter?

There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is provided Off and on-the-job. Entrants may be required to hold a driving licence.

How much does a hospital porter earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £29,409 a year (Office for National Statistics).

Is a hospital porter a growing career in the UK?

Employment is projected to fall 4% by 2035, from about 19,200 to about 18,400 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become a hospital porter?

Usually not. Only 14% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources

• Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03