Tom Spencer, waste minimisation officer

Each and every person who works at The Christie performs a valuable role which directly links to patient care. Whether it is a nurse delivering chemotherapy treatments, a member of the administration team sending out an appointment letter, a surgeon performing a robotic procedure, the domestic teams ensuring our wards are spotlessly clean, or an IT engineer keeping our computer systems running, there is a huge variety of roles that come together to make The Christie special.

All our staff go to tremendous lengths to help each and every one of our patients and together: We are The Christie.

Tom Spencer worked as a porter at The Christie for nearly three years before moving into his current role as a waste minimisation officer last year. 

He oversees all the waste across the Trust – from clinical waste to things like furniture – to make sure we’re being as sustainable as possible

Tom used to work in IT but was made redundant during COVID. He applied for a portering job at The Christie and hasn’t looked back since.

“Getting to know patients was the thing I loved about being a porter. After a while, you looked at the list and started to recognise people’s names on there. I enjoyed chatting to them. I got to know one woman particularly well – she even said that I was her personal porter. That still makes me smile even now.

I started learning about the waste side of things early on, so this role seemed like a natural fit. We are a zero-landfill site, ensuring that we reuse and recycle as much as possible. My managers and colleagues have been supportive of my development, which is great.

Tom Spencer, waste minimisation officer

Watch our We are The Christie video on our YouTube channel to see some of our key services and the support offered at The Christie, as well as patients discussing how this has helped them.

A photo of Christie waste minimisation officer Tom Spencer standing on a corridor.