Telephone Befriender Volunteer in Endoscopy role description

Volunteers will provide a telephone call to people waiting for an endoscopy (which will be able to confirm or eliminate cancer) This can be an anxious time for people and the telephone befriending will help patients wait well.

ABUHB provide endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures to many patients a year to eliminate or diagnose cancer as quickly as possible. Many of these patients may be feeling anxious about having the procedure or require further clarity about the appointment. This volunteer will phone patients a few days prior to the planned procedure and play a key role in reducing patient anxiety, helping patients feel informed, decreasing non attendance to appointments and procedure cancellations.

Key tasks

• To provide ‘waiting well’ telephone calls to individuals waiting for endoscopy procedure
• To undertake guided conversation with patients - via telephone.
• To provide information and signposting via telephone.
• To reassure anxious patients or relatives and help answer general (non-clinical) queries.
• To listen to patients’ concerns and comments, reporting them to staff as appropriate.
• To adhere to the buddy systems in place for volunteer safety and wellbeing.
• To report any concerns to Team member via email or telephone.
• To make sure that personal telephone number is withheld for all calls.
• To complete Summary Sheet after each call and submit to Clinical staff/navigator

For the full description please download the attached PDF.

You may also be interested in:

• Telephone volunteer
• Telephone befriender / phone bank
• Waiting well comfort caller
• Wellbeing telephone call