How do we make a Difference
During the past year our Community and Hospital Volunteers have expanded their support roles both within the Hospital itself and the role they play in the community.
We now have a dedicated volunteer that works on both Tarrant and Portman Wards, supporting patients who do not have many visitors. This project is called 'Let's have some Fun". Alison reads to them, plays board games, or just talks and listens, and hopefully they all have some fun. A very positive feedback tells us that as a result, patients have a much more pleasant stay in the hospital.
In the community, we are now working in co-operation with the Stroke Association by providing transport to take Stroke patients to and from their twice a month meetings in Shaftesbury. We now have two cars regularly taking people from the Blandford area to this group.
In Blandford itself, district nurses working from Whitecliffe Surgery have started a weekly Leg Club, which combines nursing care with social activity. Our volunteers support the group by assisting with the social aspects, including providing the ever popular refreshments.
Dorset County Council have now ceased supporting the blind and partially sighted people in Dorset by paying for the RNIB Talking Book Service. As a result, the Friends are now able to pay the subscriptions to the RNIB Talking Book service, so that people may still have access to this brilliant service.
In addition to the above we now regularly support approximately 60 people each month throughout the local community. These are people, in need of some support or assistance, which are referred to us by their GPs. We help by providing an extensive transport service to take people to all the hospitals in the regions. Our volunteers also assist with the regular, more local journeys to the supermarket, bank, opticians, dentists, etc., not forgetting GP's surgery appointments.
In addition, we change people's library books, walk their dogs, sit with their loved ones whilst the carer goes out, play chess, read newspapers and befriend anyone that is housebound.
Every year our volunteers provided approximately 9500 hours of voluntary work both in Blandford Hospital and the Community. We think that is an amazing achievement and are very proud of them all.
If you would like to be part of this wonderful team of volunteers, either in the hospital or in the local community, please contact Jean in the Friends Office on 01258 450095.