More Than 49,000 Volunteer Hours A Year - NHS Volunteering News - NHS Lothian
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NHS Volunteering News
Spring 2019/2020
More Than 49,000
Volunteer Hours A Year
49,269 hours a year is a conservative estimate of Recently 124 volunteers took part in a survey
the contribution of NHS Lothian’s Volunteers. asking them about their experience as a
Our 474 volunteers give a minimum of 2 hours a volunteer and 75% of volunteers rated their
week and many give a lot more. The Voluntary experience as very positive. Some of the
Services Team anticipate having over 550 comments made were ‘Love the atmosphere. It
volunteers active in placement by Summer 2020 also teaches me a lot of things regarding my
and more again by the end of the year. We are future occupation. It is really fun as well, being
working in partnership with our colleagues to out in the wards and meeting different kinds of
identify the places where volunteers can add people’, ‘Activities Co-ordinator and Ward Sister,
value, improve the patient and visitor experience are very encouraging, informative and
and support positive health outcomes. This will supportive.’, ‘Someone from the Voluntary
see the annual yearly hours contribution of Services Team is always there for me if I need
volunteers rise to approximately 60,000. anything at all. They are easy to talk to and
always willing to listen and help out.’
Volunteers currently have roles in all of the major
hospitals as well as many other sites and are Over half of our volunteers said they wanted to
making a regular, weekly commitment in over have more contact with the Voluntary Services
100 different wards and services, taking on roles Team so we will shortly be launching a
as Ward Helpers, Guides, Drivers, Visitors, Play/ programme of Social and Educational Events at
Activity Assistants, Bed-time Story Readers, each site which will include Dementia
Befrienders, Meal Time Helpers and more. Awareness, a cheats guide to who is who in NHS
Lothian and lots of coffee and biscuits.
Ann Cairney, Charge Nurse at the Royal Hospital
for Sick Children, has been welcoming volunteers
to her ward for over 10 years and says
‘Volunteers are amazing. We wouldn't be able to
Inside this edition
do with out them.’ Find out what is new from the Voluntary Services Team
Just over 100 of our volunteers have made a Learn about our Volunteers Week plans
contribution for 5 or more years and a further New policy and procedures
128 have been volunteering for more than 2 And we shine a spotlight on volunteers at the Astley
years so we must be doing something right. Ainslie Hospital as well as the Royal Edinburgh
What’s New in Voluntary Services
It has been a busy few months in the Voluntary Kirsten Law, Diane Lockhart and the Youth
Services Team with lots of exciting new Ambassadors have been working with a school
developments. We have been working with local to the Western General Hospital to recruit
colleagues at East Lothian Community Hospital and train 20 young people aged 16-18 who will
and have developed new roles for volunteers begin supporting patients at the Western General
including Ward Visitors, Meal Time Supporters Hospital soon.
and Guides. The Youth Volunteering Summer programme is
We have recruited, trained and placed 31 new open to applicants and we look forward to
volunteers in the hospital and now have a welcoming young people aged 16-25 to our
Guiding Team working in the main reception intensive six week volunteering programme
Monday-Friday 10am-4pm, an OT Activity soon. For more information contact
Volunteer and Volunteer Driver supporting an Kirsten.Law@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
Occupational Therapy group, a volunteer every Claire Garton the VSM for West Lothian has been
day in Ward Two and volunteers in Ward Three. working with colleagues at St John’s Hospital to
develop an exiting new role for volunteers in the
Meaningful Activity Centre. This role will see
We have established a Volunteer Reference
patients supported to get out of the ward setting
Group who have now met twice, and is made up
and into a less medical environment to take part
of volunteers old and new . The group will share
in games, quizzes and other activities, including
their experiences (good and not so good) and
afternoon tea which will be held every Sunday.
give their opinions to support the team to shape
We look forward to seeing volunteers from the
the service as we implement The ‘Volunteering
Youth Volunteering Programme and those from
Well’ Strategy . The group are going to be talking
our general volunteering programme working
about publicity, support, evaluation, etc. If you
together to engage patients in meaningful
would be interested in joining the reference
activity.
group please email
volunteer.enquiries@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk.
Pictured above some of the East Lothian Community Hospital Guide Team
Amy Innes, Third Sector Voluntary Services Manager,
has been out and about getting to know some of the
organisations that provide their own volunteers to
support patients on NHS sites. Amy also hosted an
event for all the Third Sector organisations that recruit,
train and support volunteers who volunteer at the
Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Amy says ‘ it is simply
amazing to hear about the wonderful things these
charities and their volunteers are doing to support the
Your Voluntary Services Team
patients. Part of my role is to help these organisations
maximise the difference their volunteers make and to needs you!
ensure that everyone is safe. To do this I have We are looking for Lead Volunteers. Could
developed a basic check list for organisations to you be a Lead Volunteer?
complete.’
Through our recent survey volunteers told us
So far 7 organisations have completed the checklist they would like more contact with each other
and more are in the process. If you know of a Third and more contact with the Voluntary Services
Sector Organisation who want to work with patients Team. Research tells us that volunteers ben-
please contact Amy.Innes@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk so efit from meeting and talking with others do-
that she can support them ing similar activities. We would like to
recruit some Lead Volunteers to help us stay
in contact with volunteers, support the
If anything is new with you
induction of new volunteers and help us at
If anything changes for you please let us know by events bringing volunteers together. If you
contacting your local Voluntary Services Manager or would like to find out more about this or are
email Volunteer.enquiries@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk. Let interested in becoming a Lead Volunteer
us know if you change your address , phone number or please let Jane know by emailing
email address or if you need to change your Jane.Greenacre@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
volunteering hours or stop volunteering. This will help and come along to an information session 2-
us keep in touch with you, make sure we don’t have 4pm on the 12th of May at Waverley Gate
vacancies we aren't aware of, and help us give you the to find out more.
right support.
Welcome Back Laura
A very warm welcome back to Laura Wark who is returning to the Voluntary
Services Team after maternity leave.
Laura will be based at East Lothian Community Hospital, working Tuesday—
Thursday 9am-4.30pm. Laura is excited to be returning to work and said ‘it
has been a great year at home with my wee girl but I am looking forward to
coming back and catching up with my colleagues. There have been lots of
exciting changes while I have been off, so it will be great to get involved
with the new recruitment process and to meet all the new volunteers.’
Laura also mentioned ‘ I will enjoy the chance to finish a cup of tea whilst it
is still hot!’
Spotlight
Sunsia is a Volunteer Ward Helper in the Charles Bell Unit
at the Astley Ainslie Hospital. Sunsia volunteers along-
side the Specialist Neuro Rehabilition Team supporting
patients who have a brain injury, from all over Scotland.
Sunisa, who is 16, has been volunteering 2 hours a week
for just over 6 months. Helping out at meal times and
socialising with patients to help them stay active and
stimulated. Sunsia says her favourite thing about
volunteering is ‘Talking to people about their lives and
hopefully letting them focus on stuff other than their
health.’ Sunsia also shared a favourite memory from her
volunteering ‘ I had been talking to a patient I see every
week and I got to see her smile. I told her I was going to a
concert and it was one of her favourite artists. Afterwards
I showed her videos had taken and talked about it and it
made her really happy.’
New volunteer support at the
Royal Hospital for Sick Children
provided by a new partner from
the Third Sector
Team Jak are providing pop up Jak’s Den activities on Ward 2 on a Wednesday evening. The staff team,
supported by volunteers, come along every Wednesday evening and present fun arts and crafts, music
activities and storytelling to the children and offer tea, coffee and cakes to the adults.
Team Jak base themselves in the playroom at the bottom of the ward and then, with permission from
staff, go to each cubicle and let people know they are there. From there they either go into the cubicle
with an activity or the family can come to them in the playroom. The sessions are going down a treat
with children, parents and staff alike. The positive feedback from parents regarding having a safe space
to chat with others on the ward and the Team Jak team, and to share their worries with, has been hum-
bling. To see the smiles on the children’s faces when they created treasure boxes and stuffed a bear to
keep is priceless.
‘It’s been so worth going through all the competencies and compliances required to sign the Service
Level Agreement, as it gave us comfort knowing we had most of it in place already and any wee bits we
then added again, strengthening our good practice as a charity. Amy has been a real encouragement in
the whole process and we found it to be a very positive one which is now clearly benefitting our inspira-
tional warriors of Ward 2.’ Said Allison Barr, CEO of Jak’s Den.
Spotlight Introducing the Royal Edinburgh Hospital Volunteering Hub The Hub is a unique project which engages both patients and members of the public in volunteering. The Hub was established in 2008 and is based at McKinnon House. The service is delivered by Volunteer Edinburgh The Hub Team Katie Smith, Kat Kane and Angela Farr and funded through the Edinburgh and Lothian Health Foundation. Patient volunteering. Following a long partnership between hospital Occupational Therapists and Volunteer Edinburgh, it was clear that lots of patients in the hospital were keen to volunteer and a dedicated patient volunteering service was set up . The service is tailored carefully to the individual and designed to help patients get involved, even during a crisis in their lives. The Hub team believe that everyone has something to offer, even in the darkest of times in their lives, and work to involve people in ways which play to their strengths and interests. Patients are involved in a huge range of volunteering activities within the hospital including bird surveys, playlists for life, designing publicity for hospital activities , helping in green spaces, DIY roles and running the library to name just a few! Public volunteers. The Hub recruit, train and manage 90+ volunteers at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Volunteers support patients in a huge range of positive activities. For example, study buddying programme where patients are matched with a volunteer to study an area of interest. Topics that patients have studied include ancient history, philosophy, maths, football management, history of rock and roll, astronomy, computer programming and animal behaviour. Also patients who are interested in learning a language are matched with volunteers with language skills. Volunteers are also busy on the wards in befriending roles or supporting music groups, pampering sessions and board game groups and more. If you would like to get in touch with the team at the Volunteering Hub please pop in, call 0131 537 6229 or email reh@volunteeredinburgh.org.uk. New Volunteering Policy & Procedures We have recently been reviewing our volunteering policy and procedures to ensure that we have all the ground work in place to deliver the ‘Volunteering Well’ Strategy. Excitingly our new policy allows us to recruit volunteers 14-16 for certain roles. We also have a new procedure which outlines how creative roles will be developed to support patients and visitors to have a positive experience and a procedure on how we will manage volunteers who are having difficulties in their role or who are not representing the NHS as we would like. You can view our policy and procedures at Policy Online https://policyonline.nhslothian.scot or we can send you hard copies if you prefer.
Let’s
Celebrate!
The Voluntary Services Team invite are keen to cel- Ten Pin Bowling
ebrate the hard work, commitment and
Come along for a fun evening of pizza and bowling.
achievements of our volunteers during National Vol-
unteers eek and to say a big thank you to everyone June 3 - 5pm-7pm - World of Bowling
for their efforts. We hope that you can join us at
one of the events.
Coffee, Cake and Crafts
Join us for a relaxing afternoon of coffee , cake and
Coffee, Cake and Cuddles crafts. The crafts are optional and no previous
Join us for a coffee morning with a difference as we experience will be required.
are joined by the Therapet Team and some four leg- June 4 - 2.30-4.30pm Western General
ged friends Hospital - M.E.C.
June 1 - 10am - 12 - St Johns Hospital
Coffee, Cake and Culture
A Musical Evening Reception Join Arabella Harvey (Curator) for a tour of art work
Come along and hear the Phoenix Carers Choir sing on display at East Lothian Community Hospital and
and meet other volunteers . A light buffet super is learn more about the art work and design features
provided of the hospital. And of course there is
coffee and cake.
June 2 - 5.30—7.30 pm - Waverley Gate
June 4 , 4.00-6.30pm East Lothian Community Hos-
pital—Bass Rock
Introduction to Mindfulness There is limited places available at each event
Mindfulness is an excellent tool to support healthy (due to room capacity) so please email
living and relaxation. Come along and find out Volunteer.Enquiries@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk or call
more. There will also be plenty of time to socialise 0131 242 3389 to request a place. If requesting a
with coffee and cake too. place at more than one event please tell us your
preference. Confirmation and further details will be
June 3 - 10am –12.30 - Chancellors Building, RIE
sent in May 2020.
Volunteering Well—NHS Lothian Volunteering Strategy 2018—2023 is supported by , Edinburgh&
Lothian Health Foundation, Edinburgh Children Hospital Charity and the Pears Foundation.You can also read
