The Only National Awards For Non-Medical / Non-Clinical NHS Staff & Volunteers
Nomination
Award Category:
Volunteer of the year
Individual or Team Nomination?
Team
Qualifying Qualities
In these challenging times, nominators were asked to show how the nominee had demonstrated the following qualities:
Exceptional work ethic - going above and beyond their job description, especially in the past 12 months.
Outstanding achievement/s in work or outside of the organisation where relevant.
Drive for innovation and proactive leadership in these challenging times.
High level of interpersonal skills, such as kindness, empathy, loyalty and thoughtfulness to staff and patients.
A resilience considering Covid to their role and to the health and wellbeing of their colleagues.
Nominators Answer
Nominee's story :
As Fairfield's Volunteers Coordinator, I am extremely proud to coordinate over 70 active volunteers deployed across many roles in the hospital enhancing our services.
The main role is on the front reception desk, where patients and visitors receive an excellent patient experience from our volunteers, with their happy to help attitude. Our volunteers’ way-find hundreds of visitors daily to their correct location including wheelchair and mobility support, with empathy and kindness. A small touchpoint cleaning task around reception is done twice a day (introduced during COVID) minimising the risk of infections. Every task they do makes that difference however large or small. As a hospital like many, Fairfield is faced with many front line challenging queries from visitors like parking. As a passionate team they are handled with professionalism, integrity, care and understanding always conveying the correct information, making sure they give the best patient experience they can, supporting the organisation.
Recently we introduced a free volunteers mobile library service. One of our volunteers whose profession was a joiner, helped us turn an old catering trolley into a library trolley. With donations from communities and libraries our full large store cupboard of books, allows volunteers to visit wards, giving out donated books or stimulating our patients with activity newspapers bringing a bit of fun to the wards. Festively decorated throughout December, it was well received especially when it was accompanied with music on the dementia ward. The volunteers aren’t precious about the library, any visitor or staff member can also take a book.
Volunteers also introduced a PAT dog (Pets as Therapy) into Fairfield in 2023. Tina, one of our volunteers, enriches our patients and staff's lives with her dog Atlas on her visits. Volunteers accompany Tina and Atlas as it gives them a way to communicate and engage with patients. The reaction from patients, visitors and staff is wonderful to see and you can guarantee everyone is left smiling after volunteers’ visits.
Our volunteers also helped support the test of change of our new dementia ward. They joined the team helping with the activities which included our PAT dog Atlas. Our volunteer’s joinery skills were again utilised when he made plant pots and a post box for the activity area. The ward manager praised volunteers for their support and because it has been so successful, funding is now available for this to continue for another 6 months.
Our team of volunteers also supports with Dining Companions, giving one to one support to patients at mealtimes and wards during their busy times. A&E have support volunteers in the mornings giving out tea and toast under supervision and collect meal trays at lunch. Our volunteers help the Radiology team in X-ray and we have many volunteers on our busy wards as patient/ward support.
They are an exceptional supportive team to each other; friendships have been made and our experienced volunteers mentor our new students if required.
Great team !
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