National Volunteers Week 2024 | News

“I have been a volunteer at Royal Surrey in the Radiology Department for just over 2 years. I wanted to become a volunteer to give something back to the hospital.  Having lost a close member of the family to cancer I wanted to give back my time and support to the hospital staff as a ‘thank you’ for the outstanding care and treatment they received here.”

Tina is one of hundreds of volunteers who generously give their time week in and week out to support and enhance the care we offer to our community.  They fulfill a huge range of roles in our hospitals, through the Royal Surrey Charity and at The Fountain Centre.  Voluntary Services Manager Chrissie Beard, along with her colleague Sarah Allen, run the Voluntary Services team:

“We have volunteers quietly volunteering behind the scenes helping with admin, gardening and supporting our charity. We also have teams volunteering directly with patients, in clinics, wards and outpatients areas.  Our Fountain Centre team provide enormous support to our cancer patients and their carers, from a friendly welcome, to therapies and counselling.  Our student volunteers help on the wards with the evening meal.  In any one month we are looking at a gift of time from all of our volunteers of around 2750 hours.”

The team is still in the process of rebuilding post pandemic as numbers fell away, but recently we’ve been able to welcome volunteers back into the newly refurbished Royal Surrey Cancer Centre reception area, our ward trolley service and our minor injuries unit at Haslemere.

Our volunteers have a range of motivations and backgrounds.  Some have been here for over 30 years others are getting their first taste of volunteering.   Amelie is a student volunteer. She started in last September and has ambitions to work in healthcare.  She wanted to get a feel for life in a hospital:

“I would absolutely recommend the volunteer scheme, particularly but not exclusively for those wanting to go into healthcare. Learning about medicine virtually or theoretically is so different to seeing it in real life and being able to contribute what you can to it, and in any case it is extremely gratifying to be able to help those more vulnerable than us.”

Others begin volunteering as a way of getting back into work, Chrissie Beard says it’s a route which can lead to unexpected opportunities:

“We’re proud of our record of supporting people into work like a colleague in the Emergency Department who started volunteering in 2013 with no intention of starting a second career. She enjoyed the environment and working within the team so much that she is now the Specialty Manager for the department, having worked as an ED receptionist and medical rota co-ordinator in between.”

Whether volunteering leads to a surprise new career or whether your motivation is elsewhere, research into the benefits has shown it boosts mood and empathy and can really help your general health.   And you’ll be the recipient of huge gratitude from our patients and staff alike.

Jan Mace is the Deputy Services Manager for our Radiology team:

“The volunteers that work in Radiology are fundamental to the smooth running of our department….. If they are absent for any reason they are sorely missed and the day is always harder to manage…… We really appreciate what they do and work wouldn't be the same without them.”

If you are interested we continue to actively recruit new volunteers to join the team.  The Voluntary Services department is on Level A, in the main reception, opposite Costa Coffee. It’s open for staff and members of the public to call in and ask about opportunities. For more information on all volunteering at the Trust, email rsc-tr.VoluntaryServices@nhs.net or see further details Volunteering | Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust.