“How our volunteering team fights Covid-19”

Before Covid-19 hit the world, our volunteering service at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust was thriving. The Dining Companion project we were running with Helpforce, where volunteers help feed patients, assist with opening food sachets or simply offer companionship, was coming on leaps and bounds. Our Meet & Greet service was making an amazing difference to the patients and visitors that came through our doors each day. The care and assistance that we were able to provide for our patients, staff and visitors were improving on a daily basis.

When we received the unfortunate news from the government regarding the lockdown due to Covid-19 across the country, we had to rethink our whole system.

How could we still deliver the much needed services we had previously provided in a world that was going to be so different to the one we had known?

With a heavy heart, we had to make the unfortunate decision to step down the majority of our volunteers due to them being within the high risk categories.

It was a very difficult decision to make as volunteers brought so much to our patients, services and staff, day in and day out but their health and wellbeing was also our priority.

Act fast

With the impact of Covid-19 and the precautions that now needed to be taken, there was a new and much needed ask for help within our hospital. Our staff were under immense pressure and our amazing volunteers were needed now more than ever!

We decided we needed to quickly pull a beneficial and safe plan together. We explored which services were in need of help and planned how we could be of assistance.

The task of recruiting more volunteers for a new volunteer responder role and volunteer driver role then began and communications were put out to the wonderful public.

We had an overwhelming response from people from all walks of life that lived near and far, offering their skills in such a difficult time. The response was certainly prodigious and emotional.

We needed to ensure our responder volunteers were in the correct age bracket and in good health to ensure optimum safety for them so we could get them on board.

We had an army of vibrant, energetic and enthusiastic volunteers who could help us with a wide range of tasks such as helping get patient belongings safely to the wards, sending out letters to loved ones, pharmacy deliveries, ensuring specimens got to our labs for testing in a timely manner, organising and delivering PPE, and distributing food and drink to our staff.

Our volunteer drivers ensured there was continuous support in the community. They

delivered much needed essentials to our care homes and between our trusts.

Once we had started the responder roles, there were other departments which came forward asking for much needed help.

The Volunteer Spirit

The volunteers hit the ground running; nothing was too much for them.

The volunteer management team worked alongside the volunteers to ensure an optimal outcome whilst also ensuring the volunteers had the support they needed and together we took each day as it came and battled through the challenges!

The amount of help needed grew by the day, and whilst the workload got heavier, we also had to ensure social distancing rules were met to keep our volunteers safe.

Although the volunteers were met with the worries and pressure from the staff, patients and their families, they kept their spirits high and did what they could to keep morale strong. They helped wherever they could.

Given the circumstances around why we appealed for help, this role has been fast- paced, emotional and exhilarating. Our volunteers battled through each day and helped in a way they had never done before – even through the most difficult days they refused to let the situation beat them!

We completed risk assessments with all our volunteers to identify those at higher risk and those who want to return to their previous role. We are now beginning to look at all our previous volunteering roles and we are prioritising them in order of how essential the role is for the experience of our patients and staff. These will be risk assessed and a phased return plan completed.

Our reflections

Our world was not prepared for what hit us; there was no practice run or expectation of such a huge epidemic. Many people have suffered heartbreak, fear, confusion and loss both personal and financial.

We are filled with huge gratification, fulfilment and strength that in these unknown and difficult times, we all pulled together as one and we continue to do whatever we can to support our patients and staff. The way our trust has been supported by the amazing volunteers that have come forward in our time of need has been emotional and outstanding. Volunteers have highlighted to the Trust how flexible and adaptable we can be to emerging priorities. We cannot thank them enough! They have been the ray of light in our dark time of need and they continue each and every day brightening up our NHS and the hearts of all that need them!

Looking ahead

We will continue to support our patients and families to provide services to help them stay connected during this period of no visiting.

As our volunteers will inevitably go back to their old lives; many returning to work and study after summer, a priority will be balancing recruiting new volunteers alongside bringing back our existing volunteers.

In the future weeks, we will be focusing on our Dining Companions role, discharge and community roles and how we can support our service users in this new digital age.