Hospital's distress call

Great, I thought when my news editor suggested I spend a day volunteering at Southampton General Hosp-ital for a feature, "a nice, relaxing day out of the office."

Little did I realise what a hard day's work lay in front of me as I arrived, bright and early, at the hospital's main entrance to meet voluntary service co-ordinator Kim Sutton.

Kim is in charge of recruiting volunteers to work for Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, which is not as easy as it sounds.

She explained to me the dire shortage of volunteers for the Southampton General, Royal South Hants and Princess Anne hospitals and the Abbey Unit.

The situation has become so bad that a tea shop situated on D-level of the General has to close at certain times during the day, as there are not enough people to help run it.

Kim had also previously taken me on a tour of the hospital, showing me all the different areas in which volunteers are needed, including patient surveys, hospital guides, and Radio Lollipop.

It all seemed rather fun and when I offered my services to the General for a day, I pictured myself spending time chatting to patients, acting as a DJ for the children's radio station and generally having quite a nice, easy day.

But all these images quickly disappeared when Kim left me in the hands of veteran volunteer Malcolm Kitson in elderly care ward G5.

Malcolm, 66, has been volunteering at the General for more than a year and his role now includes training new recruits.

Immediately, it was pretty obvious that the relaxing day I had pictured was not really on the cards as doctors, nurses, bed managers and ward clerks milled around me, filling out mountains of paperwork, answering a never-ceasing telephone and juggling empty beds with incoming patients.

It was quite a relief when Malcolm sent me into a side room to fill out menus for the patients' dinner that evening and breakfast the following day.

Looking at the forms, which had lists of various starters, main courses and desserts, accompanied by little boxes which looked like they had to be ticked, I thought this would be a task I could handle with no problems.

Wrong again - not only did the forms have to include which meal each patient would like, they also had to highlight those who were diabetic, those who needed a soft meal, and various other dietary requirements.

To make things all the more complicated, each batch of forms was a different colour - to correspond with the colour of the bays the patients were in.

I was just about getting the hang of this when Malcolm informed me we needed to take the menus down to the kitchen, and would be making a few stops along the way, dropping off X-ray and blood-test forms to the relevant departments.

Help was at hand when we got back to the ward as another volunteer had arrived to help us take the strain - or so I thought.

But it turned out another ward was just as busy as G5, so his services were needed along the corridor.

As we got on with the next task of the day - filing the notes of new patients who had arrived on the ward, within minutes of those who were well enough to be discharged from their beds I began to appreciate how valued these volunteers really are, the sterling job that they do and the amount of it!

Without Malcolm and his colleagues, all this paperwork would fall on to the ward clerk, who was already so busy that forms were literally falling off her desk, and the telephone - which was still going strong - had been buried under a mountain of folders.

Before I knew it the clock had ticked around to 12.30pm and it was time for lunch - the patients', not ours.

So my final task of the morning was to serve cups of asparagus soup to the patients before their main course arrived.

By the time we had finished, I was starving and was delighted to discover that, as a "member of staff" I qualified for a cut-price meal in the canteen.

Just as I was enjoying my first sit down of the day with a jacket potato and baked beans, and a glass of lemon and lime squash, it was time for my second placement of the day.

Kim took me up to the tea room which desperately needs more volunteers for it to stay open.

Quite a contrast from the morning's hustle and bustle, I spent my afternoon in the tea room helping to wash and dry up, collecting empties from the customers and chatting to Fiona Metcalf and Molly Seekings, who were working the afternoon shift.

Although working in the tea room was definitely less strenuous that my stint on the ward, I certainly wasn't bored as there was a steady flow of customers and I realised again how important it is that people can be found to keep the facility open.

Serving hot and cold drinks, chocolate bars, cakes, crisps, toasted sandwiches and various other tasty snacks, the tea room was used by staff on their lunchbreaks, relatives who popped in for a cup of tea while visiting a patient, doctors holding informal meetings, and fellow volunteers taking a short break.

I discovered another perk to the job as I was informed that anyone working as a volunteer was entitled to a free tea, coffee or squash from the tea room.

Becoming a volunteer for the day was certainly an interesting experience and really opened my eyes to the variety of work available for those who are keen to help.

I only helped out in two areas. There are also opportunities in the pharmacy, cyber caf, emergency room, rehabilitation, chaplaincy and many other areas.

Having volunteered in just two different sectors, I could tell the job has something for everyone, regardless of age, ability and the amount of time you can spare.

As well as doing a hard day's work, you leave with the knowledge that you have helped make a difference to your hospital, and your community.

LEAGUE OF FRIENDS: CAN YOU HELP?

Coffee bars - Coffee/tea bars located at Southampton General, Royal South Hants and the Princess Anne Hospital - serving hot and cold drinks and snacks, handling money, washing up, clearing tables and keeping the kitchen and dining areas clean and hygienic.

Newspaper trolley - Taking newspapers to ward areas, etc, to sell to patients and staff at the SGH and PAH, mornings and afternoons, volunteers needed particularly at weekends and for the morning shift, starting at 8.30am - this service is in danger of ceasing if more volunteers cannot be found.

League of Friends shop - To help serve in the shop in the main foyer at Southampton General - selling canned drinks, confectionery etc.

Escort/guide service - Extra guides always needed - training given on hospital layout - Southampton General and Royal South Hants Hospital.

VOLUNTEER PLACES:

Hospital Volunteers:

Accident and Emergency - Help needed to guide and support patients.

Information Point - The information point volunteers find information for patients, staff and members of the public on many health matters and provide leaflets/booklets.

Wards - Volunteers needed in many ward areas at Southampton General, Eye Unit and the Royal South Hants Hospital to help patients stay more comfortably, maybe writing letters for them, tidying lockers and flowers, running errands, helping at meal times - and generally chatting to patients and having time to spend with them.

Reception areas - Help required.

Patient Advocacy and Liaison Service:

This is a new and exciting opportunity for anyone who likes helping people and has good listening skills.

Princess Anne Hospital:

Meet and greet - Help needed to cover the reception desks, provide visitors and patients with information and general cover.

Drivers - Urgently needed to bring patients into appointments etc.

Royal South Hants Hospital:

Radiotherapy - Volunteers are needed in many areas within the department, on reception, helping patients flow through and generally chatting to patients and having time to spend with them.

Southampton General Hospital:

Emergency room - A recall volunteer is needed each morning to help guide patients when they revisit A & E.

Surgery - An administration clerk is needed one day a week to help with general clerical tasks.

Rehabilitation - A practical volunteer is needed to help with setting up equipment. A volunteer is wanted to help patients with a computer, one day per week.

Red Cross - Are looking for volunteers to help with therapeutic care (hand massage etc) - training given.

Radio Lollipop - Need volunteers on a Monday evening to help with their busy evenings spent with children who are patients.

Elderly care - A volunteer is needed for half a day to help elderly people with a discharge survey.

Chaplaincy - Volunteers are needed to help the team and also a volunteer is wanted to help with the floral displays once a month.

Pharmacy - Help is needed here in a diverse role supporting busy staff in general tasks.

Cyber caf - Volunteers needed lunchtimes to help support IT learners.