All week we have been encouraging you to Consider Volunteering, today the final day of National Volunteering Week 2016 we wished to share with you an insight into how Volunteers are making a real difference in the every day life and living in Kerry
IT’S a small team that’s working well and making a big difference, that’s the message this week from University Hospital Kerry Volunteer Co-ordinator Nollaig Barry.The volunteer programme at the hospital was initiated in 2012 to support the Care of the Elderly facility which was later transferred to the Tralee Community Nursing Home in Killerisk. Since then it has grown into an integral part of life in the hospital.
“At the initial stage we looked at taking on just two or three ‘Befrienders’ to support patients. Once we saw the success of that we looked at other ways volunteers could help and that is how our ‘Meet and Greet’ initiative came about ,” Nollaig explained.
‘Meet and Greet’ volunteers provide a friendly, welcoming first impression to everyone coming to the hospital. Their role is to assist and guide visitors and patients to the various wards, departments and clinics in the hospital.
“Recently there have been a lot of changes to Departments throughout the hospital and they are on hand to direct patients and the public to various locations- for example the new Endoscopy Department,” Nollaig remarked.
Volunteers are asked to seek out patients and members of the public who look unsure, to answer queries around visiting etc and actively engage with anyone who might need their help.
“They are the friendly face for people at the front of the hospital. It can be a nervous experience for many, most people are not coming to us because they aren’t well themselves or they are visiting family or friends that are unwell,” the Volunteer Co-ordinator explained.
“It is a very busy thoroughfare too. We have on average 300 to 400 outpatient clinic appointments each morning and again in the afternoon and there is huge footfall for the other Departments as well like physiotherapy, x-ray. It can be a bit daunting, and their job is to make the journey smoother if they can,” she added.
Along with the fantastic service being provided by the ‘Meet and Greet’ volunteers there has been a big push in recent years to get service users more involved in the day to day activities of the hospital. So when a suitable opportunity arises to graduate one of their ‘Meet and Greet’ recruits to a more diverse role around the ‘Service User Panel’ Nollaig and her team jump at it.
The ‘Service User Panel’ is designed to “get people on board from the public, and allow them to share outside experience and opinions”; and roles allocated include: participation in committees, audits, surveys, participation of leaflets.
One example of recent involvement of volunteers in this area is the ‘Nutrition Steering Committee’ set up to adhere to HIQA standards in this area.
‘Meet and Greet’ volunteers have also rolled out of a ward based patient experience survey designed to assisting patients who want to give feedback on their stay at University Hospital Kerry.
All in all volunteers are contributing to making University Hospital Kerry a much better place to visit, and it is not only the hospital that is benefitting. Volunteers too get a real sense of satisfaction from their role.
“All our volunteers really seem to be enjoying their time with us, they are getting comfortable with the staff and giving directions. They know they are helping people on a daily basis,” Nollaig remarked.
“It’s important to us that we don’t overload people. They all have busy lives outside their volunteering,” she added.
Nollaig and her team also provide full training for all their volunteers, from initial induction, through to practical one to one sessions and hand hygiene.
The hospital does the majority of its volunteer recruitment with the help of the Kerry Volunteer Centre, and are overwhelmed by the interest shown by people around the county in helping their hospital.
“There is a lot of interest in helping out, but people have different demands on their lives, they are very busy. We have very happy with the volunteers we have now, and we really appreciate all the time they give us,” Nollaig concluded.
The feedback from Volunteers on their experiences is very positive. Some cite the ’sense of satisfaction with helping people , being made feel welcome in the hospital Environment and appreciated for giving your time by the public & hospital staff’ . Other have said ‘many thanks for giving me the opportunity on seeing, as an outsider, what really happens in the hospital environment. They truly are an amazing team of workers and we need to get that out there besides all the negativity . Really enjoy giving my few hours a week’.
For details on current Volunteering Opportunities available at the University Hospital Kerry go online to www.volunteerkerry.ie
