Hospital Volunteers Week

MID and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has celebrated kind-hearted volunteers, who dedicate their time and effort to help patients and hospital staff.

Volunteers work in a variety of roles at the hospitals, supporting both patients and our staff. Some of the many roles involve helping patients during mealtimes, ushering the ones having difficulty finding hospital departments for their appointments, and supporting the work of ward staff by running samples and documents between departments.

Across the Trust’s three hospitals, there are over 700 volunteers who collectively donate around 120,000 hours of voluntary service in various roles.

Jonathan Wright, Senior Voluntary Services Manager said: “We are really fortunate to have a wonderful group of people who want to support our paid colleagues in delivering the highest standards of patient care.

“They give up their time, showing dedication, compassion, and commitment to helping others. We are immensely grateful for their invaluable contributions and the difference they make every day”.

Among the many volunteers, Maisy Smith from Hockley, has been volunteering as a ward runner at Southend Hospital for nine months, collecting medical supplies, patient samples and documents and delivering them to different departments around the hospital.

She is about to start a new job at the hospital as a radiology porter and credits her voluntary work as a key factor for her success.

Ms Smith said: “I have learning difficulties and suffer with anxiety, but volunteering has really boosted my confidence.

“Working with both staff and patients, it’s nice to know that what I’m doing is helping others. Many of the staff I have dealt with have helped me with references, so it’s been a massive help. If you get a chance to volunteer, it’s definitely worth doing.”

Anyone interested to become a volunteer at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust and make a real difference to the lives of patients, their families and hospital staff, can do so by getting in touch with the Trust’s Voluntary Services team on: [email protected]

Picture: Maisy Smith

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