Aileen on volunteering at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
‘My office skills have been invaluable’
I volunteer to support two volunteer teams at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), performing ‘back office’ activities, mostly data entry;
- Butterfly volunteers: I enter the information the forms the Butterfly Volunteers complete after each visit, allowing the Volunteer Coordinator’s to run reports on the number of patients supported, number of visits, bedside hours etc.
- Volunteer Drivers: I maintain a database of all referrals made to the drivers, type of activity, location driven to etc and produce regular metrics and reports for the Volunteer Coordinator/Office. This data can be used to e.g. show cost savings for the Trust with then service is utilised.
In addition, I also drive for the Volunteer Drivers Service for non-patient activities such as collection of Virtual Ward kits from patients or delivery of urgent medications. I also support Pathology by making up Faecal Immunochemical Tests (FIT) to be dispatched to primary healthcare providers for issue to patients. Currently I make up 200 partial kits per week at home, for completion by addition of the test tubes at NNUH by another volunteer.
After retiring I wanted to give back to the community and having worked in the health/medical arena all my working life, it felt natural to volunteer in an NHS setting. NHS staff are hard-pressed and anything we volunteers can do to help alleviate pressures is important.
My primary activities mostly alleviate the burden on the Volunteer Coordinators, freeing up their time to focus on priority activities to support staff, patients, and other volunteers. For myself, it is rewarding to feel that my skillsets are put to good use, freeing up time for others. And when out driving, I enjoy the interaction with patients when collecting or delivering items. I am still not keen on having a patient-facing role, and the Voluntary Services team have been really good at not pushing this and finding a variety of roles where the skills I can offer will be greatly appreciated. My office skills have been invaluable in setting up and maintaining Excel spreadsheets to track data for the Voluntary Services teams.
[Volunteering] keeps me and my brain active and makes me feel that I am still useful and can contribute to society! Wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone considering volunteering – there are so many opportunities, there will be one to fit!
To find out more about volunteering at the NNUH, visit https://www.nnuh.nhs.uk/getting-involved/volunteer-with-us/become-a-volunteer/ or call 01603 286060.