Trust celebrates National Volunteers’ Week
03 June 2024
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is celebrating the extraordinary contribution of our 265 incredible volunteers this National Volunteers’ Week from 3–9 June.
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is celebrating the extraordinary contribution of our 265 incredible volunteers this National Volunteers’ Week, taking place between Monday 3 June – Sunday 9 June.
The Trust is proud to run a Volunteering programme that has spanned 5 decades. In the past year alone, volunteers have contributed a staggering 36,889 hours of service to the Trust, helping patients and supporting staff.
Volunteers work across a variety of roles including welcoming patients to the hospital and helping with directions. They support on the wards around mealtimes, offer their support to patients in the ED department and are a key in supporting patients from admission through to timely discharge. They also perform admin duties including check-ins with patients to confirm attendance in advance so that we reduce the number of missed appointments. The contributions that volunteers have made have had a lasting effect on our patients and their experience in our hospitals and clinics.
Jo Taranowski, Volunteering Manager at West Middlesex Hospital, said: “Volunteers play a significant role in our Trust. They are the first people to greet patients and visitors on arrival, playing a crucial role to the atmosphere felt for nervous and anxious patients. They give so much of their time and energy, willingly, and for free. They bring so many skills and experiences to their roles and are a joy to work with."
Daniella Kok, Volunteering Manager at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, said: “Volunteers bring the added value to a patient’s experience with that little bit of extra time and attention whilst supporting the staff in the different areas in the hospital. Our volunteers give their time for free and it is important to acknowledge what they want to get out of their experience. It is amazing to see how their time supports the Trust and at the same time how we support the volunteers in their reasons to volunteer, if that is social contact, giving back or a career in the NHS.”
A patient from West Middlesex Hospital A&E said, “Soraya was a good listener. She was professional empathetic and sensitive to my situation. Thank you for your service and the work you do”.
In 2022 the Butterfly Volunteers Programme was launched at West Middlesex Hospital to provide companionship, support and comfort to patients and their loved ones at the end of life. Patients and families say they get comfort from speaking to the Butterfly Volunteers, along with helpful advice on how to navigate through difficult times. Since the launch of the programme, our 13 Butterfly Volunteers have supported 974 patients who were at the end of life. In total they made a 202 visits to our inpatient wards which equates to 460 hours.
The success of the programme has led to the service launching at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in May 2023. Since launching, the 7 Butterfly volunteers have made staggering 400 visits to end of life patients.
A patient said about a Butterfly Volunteer, “I'm speechless. I can't believe how happy you made me feel. I feel strong and human because of you.”
Our Volunteering programme has also positively impacted the future careers of our dedicated volunteers. Harpal joined as a volunteer in March 2023 as a ward helper and has since gained a fulltime position at a local GP surgery. Harpal said, “I had anxiety and stress whilst trying to find a job so I decided to volunteer which took my mind off everything. If I had the chance I would have done this a long time ago. It has helped me, I believe, to get a job which I never would have got without the help of West Middlesex.”
Happy National Volunteers’ Week to all of the wonderful volunteers.