Volunteering at George Eliot hospital during COVID-19 - Becky Millward - Patient Experience Manager
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Volunteering at George Eliot
hospital during COVID-19
Becky Millward – Patient Experience Manager
July 2020
‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
Agenda Volunteering at GEH before COVID-19 How we responded to the pandemic Volunteer roles, hours and impact What we’ve learned and next steps ‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
Before COVID-19.. • Successfully applied to NHS England for 25k grant to develop volunteering across the Trust • Match funded by GEH charity • Recruited Voluntary Services Co-ordinator on a one year secondment • Developed a volunteering improvement plan ‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
March
• National volunteering group - Future NHS Collaboration
platform
• Took a pragmatic and risk assessed approach to volunteering
with a focus on:
safety and only recruiting where there’s a definite
need
reducing pressure on staff
supporting services and increasing flow
connecting patients and relatives
• Agreed required health criteria to keep volunteers safe
• GEH Volunteers who didn’t meet health criteria stood down
• Paused non-essential volunteering roles
• Recruited St John’s Ambulance volunteers with
clinical skills
‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
April • Re-organised staff and resources to support volunteering • Developed a new and fast-track, safe recruitment process • Developed role descriptions for each area of need and carried out a volunteer recruitment campaign • Designed and implemented a volunteer health declaration form based on the agreed health criteria • Developed a fast-track volunteer induction and training handbook • Designed and implemented a new voluntary driver service • Worked with the League of Friends to create a volunteer welcome point ‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
Volunteering Statistics
7th April - 25th June (excluding voluntary drivers service)
Processed 225 applications
Inducted 71 new volunteers
Placed 67 volunteers to new roles
Recorded 3700 volunteering hours (98 WTE weeks)
Welcome
Pharmacy Staff St John’s
point
runners sanctuary Ambulance
volunteers
space support
Clinic
entrance Distributing Stores
meet and donations Admin support
greet support
‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
Voluntary Driver Service
Began 2nd April 2020
• Available 8.30-6pm 5 days a week (was 7 days a week)
• Drivers transport medication, equipment, supplies and
belongings to patients and relatives
• Fully risk assessed process with built in audit trail
• Drivers receive guidance, PPE and can be reimbursed for
mileage
• Detailed but simple booking process which includes a call to the
patient to confirm delivery arrangements
‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
Voluntary Driver Statistics
7th April - 25th June
Made 908 deliveries/collections covering 6084 miles
Carried out 2 urgent PPE collections for the GEH frontline
Returned 72 bags of patient belongings to relatives in a
handmade bag with a card and knitted love heart
Delivered PPE to 7 different dental surgeries
Transported 6500 Ophthalmology patient notes
Jaguar Land Rover Classic developed a
booking app specifically for GEH
‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
The Volunteer welcome point • Support the physical and mental wellbeing of volunteers (NHSE) • Carry out volunteer inductions • Volunteer wellbeing check before each shift and review their health declaration form • Take the temperature of every volunteer at the start of each shift • Provide volunteers with latest COVID-19 guidance, Trust updates and the correct PPE • Receive parcels for volunteer drivers to deliver ‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
Our approach.. • Worked closely with staff to understand what they needed and then proactively recruited to that need • Power of conversation – talked to volunteers about their skills and interests • Ensure volunteers are part of the team and well supported • Kept in touch with previous group of volunteers ‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
Looking forward.. • Maintain safe, risk assessed approach • Build on the interest from young volunteers – students • Continue the conversations and build on staff enthusiasm for growing new volunteering opportunities • Fast track recruitment • Develop a benefits package for volunteers • Continue close working with Jaguar Land Rover, St John’s Ambulance and the League of Friends • Find a permanent home/hub for volunteers • Don’t let it all finish in April 2021 - secure a recurring volunteering budget! ‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
Feedback from staff Donations “The volunteers have been invaluable; they’re all superstars and have really helped relieve the pressure. We couldn’t have managed the donation delivery logistics without their help” Stores “For me the volunteer process is a fantastic interaction between the community and the Trust to deliver real time values that our community can be a part of. My experience of working with the volunteer team has been exceptional and without fault” Drivers "This service has been invaluable for our patients to continue having their chemotherapy treatment without putting them at added risk during COVID" Prior to this service patients attended clinic as outpatient, waited for their chemo to arrive on Dorothea, then waited for 2 nurses to check and sign them off. Very often this has been a cause of complaint” ‘Our vision is to EXCEL at patient care’
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