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On two occasions over the past few weeks, Annie Caddy has been brought to tears by the generosity of the local community.

“I went to pay for my coffee the other morning and they said ‘no, this is for you guys on the frontline’, I started crying - I am an emotional person though,” she joked.

Annie has been a cleaner at Bendigo hospital* for two years, with the last couple of months undoubtedly the most challenging as the coronavirus pandemic developed across Australia.

But when she clocks on for a shift she’s able to put the concern and uncertainty of the situation to one side.

“The way I see things is I have a job to do. When I come in here I don’t think about the pandemic, I come in here to help the nurses and doctors because we are a very important part of the hospital. If we don’t keep things clean, they can’t do their jobs properly,” she said.

Annie is charged with cleaning six wards across two floors at the hospital and her daily routine has become more infectious control conscious since the onset of the virus, she said.

“We have to be vigilant, like everyone else. There’s more handwashing, disinfecting and essentially everything that people touch needs to be thoroughly cleaned,” she said.

As a 14-year-old, Annie was drawn to a career in cleaning.

“Back then you didn’t really hear much of cleaners. You can’t realistically have a business without a cleaner. It’s just something I always wanted to do, I’ve never looked back,” she said.

As her career progressed, she gravitated towards healthcare, working at the Royal Women’s Hospital and the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne before working in healthcare in Geelong.

“I like participating in what I do - working with doctors, nurses and cleaners. Knowing that I’m participating in helping someone get well is rewarding,” she said.

“I might do the same thing every day but I see something different every day and that’s why I love it.”

In many ways the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how the clinical and non-clinical teams at Bendigo hospital have worked together to protect the community.

“It breaks my heart to see and hear of the doctors and nurses overseas and here in Australia putting themselves at risk for this. The pandemic has given people more of an appreciation of essential, frontline workers, the people who hold this hospital together,” she said.

*Annie works for Spotless, who are the facilities management contractor at the hospital.