Voluntary Service
This month Dr Max reflects on the debt we all owe to hospital volunteers
Volunteers are the backbone of the NHS. Time and time again I have seen the extraordinary impact they have on patient care. Without them, I do not think the NHS would survive. Yet they are often the unsung heroes of the health service. They go about their work quietly and with dedication, but often we overlook quite how important they are. Volunteers do the kind of work that doctors and nurses are unable to do, but is so important for the patients. Sometimes medicine can be too focused on the biological side of things—the diagnosis, the treatment, the pills and operations—and forgets that there is a social aspect that is just as important. This is where volunteers can step in.
They have the luxury of time to spend with patients, ensuring that they are comfortable, talking to them and listening to them in a way that many staff would love to do, but sadly just never have enough time. I remember an elderly woman who had come in to hospital after she broke her hip. She was in pain, unable to walk and scared. Yet the thing that was causing her the most distress was the thought of her Yorkshire terrier at home, alone, without any food. From a medical perspective, this wasn’t a concern— it’s not something that the surgeons are going to prioritise worrying about when faced with someone so gravely unwell. The nurses on the ward have more than enough to do without thinking about a dog. Yet for the patient, this was the most important thing and there is no way she would have been able to focus on getting better until she knew her dog was looked after. In stepped the volunteer covering the ward.
“Don’t worry”, he reassured her, “I’ll sort everything out”. He went round, checked on the dog and fed him and then sat and arranged for a
charity which provides foster homes to pets while their owners are in hospital. He even got regular photograph updates from the foster parents that he showed the patient while she recovered to reassure her that her beloved dog was fine. It allowed the patient peace of mind to focus on getting better.
It’s often assumed that volunteering in the NHS is just for people who have retired. Not so.
Over the years I have met all different people from all walks of life and all ages. In fact, when I was 18 and had just started medical school, I too volunteered. I had volunteered thinking that I would help others but actually, it helped me. On my first day I met an elderly woman named Mrs Richards. She told me, in a matter of fact way, that she was dying. She had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I’d never met anyone who was dying and didn’t know what to say or how to act.
But over the course of many weeks we struck up a close friendship. In the six months I knew her, she taught me more about life and death than six years at medical school ever could. When she was discharged I continued to visit her at home, and then when she went into a hospice.
At such a young, tender age, she had a profound impact on me. Yes, it was sad when she died. But more than anything, it was a heart-warming, uplifting and fulfilling experience, which changed me for the better.
■
IT’S OFTEN ASSUMED THAT VOLUNTEERING IN THE NHS IS JUST FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE RETIRED