Elibank is an SIA licensed door supervisor at a top London hotel. He was a finalist at the 2024 Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs). Elibank shares how his first aid training was essential in saving a young child from choking.
I started doing security as a part time job on the weekends when I was living in Oxford. When I moved to London, I decided to do it full time.
I have worked in many different spaces: clubs, events, construction and hospitality. I have had lots of different roles, but they have all been enjoyable.
Currently I work in a hotel. It has 350 rooms, so is fairly big. I am proud to go the extra mile to help our guests. Recently, for example, someone had lost a wallet. It got handed in and it was full of cash. There was a lot of money. I helped to restore it to the rightful owner in Germany.
There are some challenges as well. Sometimes I have to escort people out of the building. They might have had too much to drink, or sometimes people who face mental challenges come into the building. This can be tricky to handle. I need to escort them safely, so they don’t harm themselves or me.
One of the things that has changed since I got my first SIA licence is the first aid. It didn’t used to be mandatory. Now it is mandatory. I think it is a good thing that everyone has a knowledge of first aid in this industry.
We had an emergency in the hotel restaurant. There was a young baby. I think they were trying something like bacon for the first time. The baby choked. The people there didn’t know what to do. They were desperate. Thanks to my training, I managed to take the baby, and pat it on the back, and the blockage came out.
I like the fact that I am helping people on a daily basis. I want to make sure that everyone is safe and that they are enjoying themselves.