Meet some of our volunteers.
Elaine, RAH Allied Health Professional (AHP) Volunteer
Elaine has been volunteering with us for over 5 years, in a variety of roles.
She started her NHS Volunteer journey by helping out at the Langlands Unit, assisting the Activities Coordinators on the ward. Shortly afterwards, Elaine registered on the Dietetics course at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) and was persuaded to join the team at Ward 23 RAH at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Here she assisted with mealtime support to patients.
Elaine has been actively involved throughout the past year in COVID-19 response work, helping out wherever she was needed. She has a special connection with the physio team on ward 23 RAH.
Elaine explains why she got involved:
“Transitioning from an office job in the community pharmacy to frontline healthcare, I was keen to explore primary and secondary settings whilst studying. Over the five years, I have moved between different roles and locations, which has been an excellent opportunity to experience diverse areas of the NHS and play a part in helping staff and patients.
I enjoy meeting new people and supporting patients during their time in hospital, whether it’s doing seated exercise, filling up their water jug, talking about food and nutrition or having a general chat to pass the day. Building confidence in interacting with patients and feeling comfortable in the ward environment has been great. As a dietetic student, I am gearing towards placements and working with the public in a healthcare role. Every shift is a learning experience”
Bill, Ward Volunteer, Brownlee Medical Ward, Gartnavel General Hospital.
A significant proportion of the patients have some cognitive impairment. Some may be medically well, but due to complex social circumstances, they may spend a longer time in hospital whilst awaiting appropriate plans for safe discharge. Either home or to a care home environment.
Welcome to my day!
My volunteer day is a Wednesday starting at 11am. On arrival I sign in and report to the Sister/Senior Charge Nurse who gives me a quick brief and if lets me know if there is anything I need to know in order to conduct my duties safely.
I go round the ward and say hello to everyone, and introduce myself to new patients. Many patients don’t have visitors and its important to offer a friendly smile as it can make a huge difference to their day!
Around noon, I assist ward staff with the lunch routine. Supporting mealtimes is important as it’s a time when having many helping hands is important. Before the meals arrive, I check patients are ready for their meal making sure bedside tables are de-cluttered and wiped down, hand out white aprons to patients and assist with the implementation of hand hygiene.
When the meals arrive, I help dispense milk and juice and offer company to patients who require some support.
After lunch, I spend the rest of my shift talking to patients on a one to one basis and explore their personal interests, or offer comfort and reassurance if required. It’s moving and enlightening to hear about their lives which are often long and complex.
I finish at 3 pm, it’s a very enjoyable and fulfilling day. As well as supporting the Brownlee unit, I often support the Volunteer Coordinator training and introducing new volunteers to other wards in Gartnavel General – medicine for the elderly. The Brownlee wards sits on its own. It’s refreshing to go visit other wards and see how patients are being cared for through therapeutic activities. We have introduced an activity box into the ward, this means I can play cards or dominoes and do a crossword or word search together.
Volunteer Case Studies
Margaret Gunduz, Royal Alexandra Hospital Discharge Lounge Volunteer
Margaret has been volunteering with us at NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde since January 2020, but has worked within the hospital at Paisley for over 40 years and as such is one of the best known and well loved faces here at the RAH. Margaret explains how her journey in NHSGGC began;
“l started work in the old RAI so long ago, around 1979. In 1986 we moved over to the RAH and l worked there until 2004 (when l moved away to Turkey for a couple of years) but I returned to Scotland in 2006 and resumed my role at the RAH until my retirement in January 2020. I got involved in volunteering because when l retired l wanted and needed to do something to occupy my time and volunteering in the hospital and with the people l worked with seemed perfect, so I started in the Discharge Lounge.”
Margaret has provided incredible support throughout the past couple of years as part of our RAH Volunteer COVID Response team. Within this role, she has helped with everything from coordinating PPE distribution to being a key part of our valuable Give & Go team.
Volunteer Manager, Harry Balch says “Margaret has just been such an incredible support to us. She is always happy to help and her in depth knowledge of the people and places in the RAH have helped us out on many an occasion! We are so lucky to have her here as part of Team RAH”
Once visitors returned to the wards, Margaret resumed her work supporting the Discharge Team at the RAH where she makes an enormous difference to patients waiting in the lounge, making sure they have a cuppa and a blether to help pass the time.
When asked about her volunteering role, Margaret says;
“I enjoy speaking to people of various walks of life and helping in whichever small way l can. Although I have worked here for so many years, l have learned a lot of new things while volunteering, like spending more time with people who maybe just need someone’s ear and being more patient with everyone. It has also been important for me to give something back to the service, after the care that I have received from the NHS myself.”
Margaret Owen, Vale of Leven Hospital Ward Support Volunteer
Margaret has been volunteering with us at the Vale of Leven Hospital since the beginning of 2022, once she had finished working in the catering department of a local school. Margaret volunteers with us on our elderly care wards at the Vale of Leven Hospital and in her role, she helps with the tea trolley, ensuring patients get that much needed cuppa and a bit of a blether.
Margaret explains how she got involved initially;
“As I was going to have a bit more free time, I wanted to do something to help others and thought it would be good to give back to the community in some way. I was very familiar with the hospital and so I got involved in my role on the older adult wards.”
Margaret has a busy schedule and when she’s not volunteering with us at the Vale every Tuesday, she has a part time job, and also volunteers at a local Food Bank café, as well as spending valuable time with her grandchildren.
When asked about her volunteering role, Margaret says;
“I enjoy interacting with the staff and the patients. The staff work so hard and they are so grateful of a bit of support, everyone is so friendly. Going to volunteer on the wards can feel a bit daunting, although I was familiar with the ward, volunteering has given me a much greater awareness of the environment and I feel that I am able to understand our older patients’ and their needs a bit better. It feels like I am able to help out and that I am able to make a bit of a difference to the staff and patients.”
Ross Davidson, Wayfinding Volunteer Inverclyde Royal Hospital
Ross has been volunteering with us at the Inverclyde Royal since December 2022 as part of our invaluable Wayfinding team. Ross joined just as visiting restrictions were reintroduced and so quickly became part of the Give & Go role, which ran alongside his Wayfinding duties.
Ross explains why volunteering at the hospital appealed to him:
“I originally got involved in with the IRH for a couple of reasons. I wanted to gain some life experience and to make myself useful. Initially, I wanted to fulfil my Boys Brigade Queens badge where I had to complete 30 hours of volunteer work of my choice and I so decided, as I already know so many of the staff, that volunteering at the IRH would be the best way to do this. The 30 hours were completed within the first couple of months of volunteering and I decided to stay.”
As well as contributing 2 half days a week at the hospital, Ross is also involved in other volunteering roles, as well as his busy school commitments. He volunteers at Police Scotland Youth volunteers which involves helping out at various public events when extra help is needed and also occasionally still helps out as part of the local Boys Brigade.
When asked about his role with us at the IRH, Ross says;
“I enjoy doing the little things that help out the staff and helping out patients even a little bit on what could possibly be the worst day of their lives. I also enjoy integrating into a team of volunteers and security staff that is welcoming, professional and hard working.
Volunteering at the IRH has improved my organisation skills, the paperwork involved with taking items up to a patient as well as taking multiple bags at once for different wards has helped with this. It has also improved my social skills when dealing with the public, especially after spending so much time in isolation from COVID 19. Volunteering at the IRH has been a big help to my experience and I hope to use the experience going forward.”