Volunteering Service Guide: Theatre Support

A service providing support to anxious patients undergoing procedures under local anaesthetics for eye surgery in a hospital operating theatre. The service focus is on patients signalling their needs to a volunteer and/or gaining comfort and reassurance during a procedure through hand-holding.

This guide uses learning from the Handholding in Theatres service being delivered in the Moorfields Eye Hospital. The purpose of the guide is to provide a potential service adopter with the information needed to be able to:

a) Decide if the service would be of benefit to their organisation

b) Understand what considerations are needed to adapt the service to their environment