Governor shares experience of volunteering in Royal Surrey Covid-19 Vaccination Hub
Royal Surrey’s Covid-19 Vaccination Hub benefited from the help of hundreds of keen volunteers and Joan Juniper, our Waverley Public Governor, was one such dedicated helper.
Here she reflects on her volunteering experience and on the importance of being an active governor:
“Governors have a multi-faceted role, which includes representing the hospital to members and the public, holding the non-executive directors to account for the performance of the Board, and sharing the public’s and members’ views, concerns and praise with the Trust.
“As a public governor, I’m keen to find ways to interact with my constituents, whether it’s listening to their views or showing them what the hospital is doing. Volunteering in Royal Surrey’s Vaccination Hub was the perfect opportunity for this, as I met about 500 constituents a day.
“While helping in the Hub I also worked alongside hospital staff and had the chance to hear an insider’s view of the hospital. Moreover, the work gave me a valuable opportunity to explain to people what being a governor really involves.
“While helping in the Hub, I was impressed to see our Board members looking after patients and fulfilling a variety of roles and tasks.
“Being hands on in the Hub meant gaining a valuable insight into the goals, challenges and achievements of our Trust. I saw how the leadership team executed its plans to manage effective organisation of teams. Everyone had a new role, enabling the Trust to meet the urgent needs of the public.
“Staff were recruited from a diverse range of teams, including medical, nursing, pharmacy, health care, admin, porters and domestic staff. I saw professional team leadership at all times with everyone’s suggestions valued and considered. Gold standard care and safe practice was evident throughout, from giving information, clinical assessment, consent and clinical practice.
“The teams used effective listening skills, met the important needs of anxious people, people with hearing loss, those in wheelchairs, carers, people with translation needs and children who needed to accompany mothers.
“Everything was meticulously planned, from a safe environment with easy parking and directions to the Covid-19 vaccination hub, through safe administration, including the correct paperwork at the reception area and safe patient flow throughout the Hub. Any concerns were reported to the Hub manager promptly and feedback forms were collected and read at the end of each day.
“From my involvement with members of the public, I heard many commendations on the caring and professional experience they received. Being part of this historic process has been a truly rewarding experience.”