With a little help from our friends this volunteers’ week

Thursday 7th June 2018

With a little help from our friends this volunteers’ week

To celebrate volunteers’ week, the time of year when organisations recognise the enormous contribution volunteers make, Queen Victoria Hospital said a heartfelt thank you to its loyal supporters who last year collectively donated around 8,500 hours of their time.

From being a smiling face to greet patients when they arrive, to helping in a variety of administrative tasks or supporting visitors at the onsite cancer support and information centre, the hospital’s volunteers make a real difference to patients, visitors and staff.

As well as thanking its volunteers, the hospital took the opportunity to ask what people enjoyed most about helping at the hospital. Liz Colenutt, who works on the hospital’s main reception desk on a Monday morning said: “After I retired from working night duty on Peanut Ward, I returned as a volunteer in 2011. I started on the main reception desk with great help from Maureen Sanders and seven years later we still work together. It’s wonderful to be able to help patients, and on their way out they often stop to say thank you for your kindness and help. QVH is such a fantastic hospital so I’m very proud to have a tiny part in volunteering.”

Camilla Slattery, Head of Volunteering at Queen Victoria Hospital, said: “Volunteers are incredibly generous with their time and help us to provide the best patient care. We are very grateful for their time and energy and thank everyone who supports us in this way. We have a variety of opportunities across the hospital for people wanting to volunteer – it’s a great way of giving something back to the local NHS and being able to make a real difference.”

Current volunteering opportunities include the chance to join Liz’s team on main reception, including early bird shifts from 7-9am Monday to Friday, and also Saturday mornings, to help patients find their way to their appointments. There is also a unique opportunity to provide support for patients having eye surgery under local anaesthetic by holding their hand and chatting to them during their procedure. The hospital’s onsite Macmillan centre are also looking for volunteers to help support people with cancer, their family and friends who are looking for information or advice.

Anyone interested in finding out more about volunteering should please contact Camilla Slattery, Head of Volunteering, by email at Camilla.Slattery@nhs.net or call 01342 414170.

Pictured:
Can we help you? Valmai, Maureen and Liz Colenutt, ready to help patients and visitors on the Queen Victoria Hospital’s main reception desk.

For more information please contact the QVH Press Office on 01342 414508.