How NHS helpers really do calm nerves and boost care
HOSPITAL volunteers make a huge difference in preventing malnutrition, trips, falls and loneliness, research has found.
They also greatly reduce patients’ anxiety levels and speed up the time it takes before they can go home.
The findings from five NHS trusts are a major endorsement of the Daily Mail’s hospital volunteer campaign which ran throughout December. More than 33,000 readers signed up to start six-month placements from this spring, pledging nearly 1.9million hours of support.
The report by Helpforce, the charity which supported our campaign, looked at the impact of having helpers over a 12-month period at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in West London, the West Suffolk Hospitals in Bury St Edmunds, the Northumbria Healthcare trust, the University Hospital Southampton and the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals.
Across the board, volunteers were found to lessen patients’ feelings of anxiety and social isolation and prevent malnutrition by coaxing them to eat their meals.
Patients also suffered fewer trips and falls after being discharged as volunteers helped them do muscle strengthening exercises while on the ward. At the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, volunteers halved the number of outpatients who missed appointments by sending them text reminders. The ‘did not attend’ rate had been 32 per cent but this fell to 16.5 per cent after the trust set up the messaging service manned by volunteers.
A pilot study at the University of Southampton found patients went home an average of four hours quicker once recovered, if they were paired up with a ‘transport Smart: Amazon’s Alexa companion’. These were specialist helpers who assisted patients in settling back at home and ensured their medication was ready on time.
The NHS has promised to double its volunteer army over the next three years as part of its long term plan, from about 78,000 volunteers now to 156,000.
Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said: ‘Throughout its 70-year history volunteers have made a huge contribution to the NHS, freeing staff up to do what they do best – providing world class care. Thanks to the Daily Mail and Helpforce they will play an even bigger role.’
The report also found that volunteers freed-up NHS staff and saw their self-confidence rise. At the Northumbria trust, 25 per cent of younger helpers said their selfesteem had been boosted by working on wards, while the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital found that volunteers taking medication to patients ready to go home had saved staff 140 hours over a year.
Helpforce is now working with ten hospitals to deliver specialist volunteering schemes which are expected to have a huge impact.
The volunteers who signed up through the Mail will find out about their roles next month after being matched to local hospitals.