In an unsettling time Tracey has shown care and compassion to our patients and staff

18th November 2020

Tracey Ewan

Submitted by Lindsay Rutherford-Hoe, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

Tracey Ewan applied to volunteer with the Trust through the Helpforce campaign with the Daily Mail. Since commencing in her role, Tracey has shown her dedication and commitment to making a difference to our patients whilst also supporting the staff on the wards. Initially, Tracey volunteered a couple of times a month whilst also working around her day job as a hairdresser, however, Tracey was furloughed and in response to Covid-19, has provided a huge support to the trust and volunteer team by coming in three times a week since March.

In an unsettling time, Tracey has shown care and compassion to our patients and staff, including the volunteer services team. Whether it be delivering belongings to patients on the wards due to visiting restrictions, keeping patients company or assisting during mealtimes, Tracey has provided support to wherever there has been a need.

With regards to staff, Tracey has made a huge difference to the volunteer services team. She has supported the induction process of new volunteers, providing mentorship and assisting them to settle into their role. This has been particularly challenging due to the fact that our volunteers have not just been working on one specific ward, they have been supporting various wards and have had to adapt to different ways of working in unfamiliar ward settings.

Tracey goes out of her way to make sure the patients she comes into contact with have the basic necessities of toiletries and appropriate clothing to go home in. If they don’t, Tracey will arrange to collect these from the stock of donations that the trust have received. Tracey will often ring the office to ask if there are any other patients from other wards who are in need of the same necessities and if so, will offer to go and take them to patients on wards she is not volunteering on.

Tracey will also make a point every time she is volunteering, to visit the drop off point for patient belongings a couple of times during her volunteering shift. She will make sure that patient belongings are delivered to the various wards in the hospital in a timely manner. Tracey is a committed volunteer who will get on with the task in hand. She has been a fantastic support to our trust during the pandemic and a huge asset to our volunteer team.


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