Volunteer to Health Care Assistant

Darren Fixter started his volunteering at the Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust then in September 2021 applied to volunteer through the Helpforce Volunteer to Career Pathway as a wellbeing volunteer within the Accident and Emergency Department at James Cook University Hospital.

On joining Therapeutic Care as a volunteer, Darren very quickly made an impression with the staff when sharing his own experiences within the hospital. Darren set out with the mindset that he wanted a change in his career and wanted to take the first step to gaining employment within the NHS. From his very first day in volunteering, Darren showed his willingness, by committing to volunteering between 3 and 5 days a week, sometimes covering double shifts. He quickly made a positive impact within the A&E department with the staff he was working alongside and the patients he was caring for.

Darren was able to provide support to the patients that most volunteers can’t by using his own experiences to provide the best support he could. Within A&E Darren often covered two roles as a well-being and a runner volunteer. The runner role was more of a staff support role; changing of the beds, running swab samples to the labs, assisting the porters where appropriate and other duties to help ease the pressures that the staff have been facing through the pandemic. The well-being role was much more patient focused, interacting and supporting patients with mental health issues, learning disabilities, learning difficulties, autism and dementia.

During his time Darren never shied away from any of the tasks or situations he was in as a volunteer, showing his willingness and commitment to the role. He faced situations that he was unsure how to handle, but always showed compassion and respect to the patients, helping to the best of his ability and was highly praised from both the staff in A&E and the staff within Therapeutic Care.

Darren’s goal was to gain a position as a porter within the trust and within 4 months of volunteering he was offered a position. However, on receiving an invitation to his first interview Darren was also offered two further positions within A&E as an A&E Porter and an A&E Health Care Assistant. Although Darren set out for the position of a porter, he made the decision to take the position of the A&E Health Care Assistant.

Darren made a positive impact as a volunteer and has now become a great addition to the department's staff.

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