Rotary talk call for more volunteers
FROM pouring tea to singing songs, volunteers are being sought to help to prevent patients feeling isolated in Lochaber.
Ian McConnell, volunteer services manager with NHS Highland, was the guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Lochaber’s lunch meeting on April 26.
Mr McConnell told members about the opportunities for volunteering in Lochaber – including Invernevis Care Home and the Belford Hospital.
The volunteering service has been running for five years and Mr McConnell has held this post since 2013. He explained that staff at NHS Highland were immensely grateful for the positive contribution made by volunteers and recognised the valuable role they play.
There are a wide range of support tasks open to volunteers including practical tasks such as the tea trolley service, help at meal times, and emotional support such as spending time at a patients’ bedside, providing companionship and preventing isolation and loneliness.
Mr McConnell said: ‘ Volunteers can undertake a number of different roles across NHS Highland, complementing the work of paid staff. There is already a great tradition of voluntary activity across NHS Highland and we hope to raise awareness of these volunteering opportunities in Lochaber. We are also keen to recruit musicians who can offer around 30- 45 minutes once a week for singalongs.
‘Most of our volunteers offer one or two hours of their time per week. Their support can make a ‘massive’ difference to the patients.’
Past president John Goodall, retired consultant physician at the Belford thanked Mr McConnell for his excellent talk and added: ‘We’ll do all we can to spread the word.’