'I love my job', says TV star hospital guard

A Nottinghamshire security guard says his new-found TV fame has "changed the dynamic" of the job.

Leston Scafe - better known as Sugar - has featured in several episodes of the Channel 4 show 24 hours in A&E, which focusses on the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

"I love my job," he said. "I love to help people, and in hospital you have some vulnerable people who really need that help."

His rise to prominence has been crowned by winning Security Officer of the Year in this year’s National Association of Healthcare Security Awards.

Mr Scafe, 51, from Kirkby in Ashfield, used to be a prison officer but moved into hospital security five years ago.

Despite his job and imposing 6ft (1.82m) frame, he describes himself as a "big teddy".

"To be a good security guard you have to be yourself and love people, be kind," he said.

"Because if you are kind to someone, treat them right, you are going to treat them fairly.

"And if you are treating someone the way you would like to be treated, that's even better, with my role, I'm doing that day-by-day at work, it is something that comes naturally to me, that's just the way I am."

In 2022-23 the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust recorded more than 1,800 incidents of aggression, violence and harassment, a 50% rise compared to just a year before.

Mr Scafe said: "If someone wants to fight or is being rude, I just try to show them that is not the way.

"I treat them with respect and care and they then have respect for you and everyone will be happy."

Despite his positive attitude, the dangers of the job are made clear in the 15lb (7kg) stab vest he wears.

He said: "We have to walk around in this, in the cold or in the heat.

"In the winter it keeps you a bit warmer but in the summer it is really hot, it is not a nice thing to wear, but it is part of the job."

That part of the job has become a common occurrence.

"It's every day. I'm not talking last week or last month, it's every day," he said.

"It's because people come in with problems and some come in to the hospital to fight and we have to deal with it.

"But I have great colleagues and we are in it together and we work together."

"Some people recognise what we are doing but you have some who do not care, who come into the hospital to create problems.

"We are there to make sure staff and patients are safe and we have to maintain that but to a level where we are not open to criticism.

"But you still have some people who will criticise because they can't get what they want or they can't do what they want to do."

Mr Scafe, whose nickname comes from his sweet tooth as a baby, has achieved celebrity status through the fly on the wall documentary series - but it came about almost by accident.

"I did it because when they TV people asked, no-one else wanted to do it," he said.

"I said 'fine', and just had these cameras around - but I soon got used to it and most of the time I forget I have got them or the microphone on me.

"It has completely changed the dynamic of the job.

"People now see that its not just about trouble, it's about helping the hospital run better."

He said being stopped for photographs made him feel "really good" but even more job satisfaction has come in the shape of the award.

"It was epic, I was over the moon," he said. "It's not something that happens every day - in fact we struggled to find a tux to fit me, because I'm a big guy.

"For everything I have achieved I have to say thank you to the managers and staff that have supported me to get this far."

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