We are marking the return of Volunteers’ Week, which is an annual celebration recognising the contribution of volunteers across the country.
At Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust we are proud of our volunteers who dedicate their time, skills and energy to support projects across our Trust to improve the experience for service users and patients.
From gardening and crafts to gym sessions, our volunteers work across all four boroughs of the Black Country to make a real difference to the people and communities we serve.
To mark Volunteers’ Week, we caught up with a volunteer who was inspired to help with a hospital gardening project after being supported for their mental health by staff at our Trust.
Here, they share their story, and the impact volunteering is making on their life:
“Volunteering has helped me enormously. It helps me meet people and form relationships and allows me to talk to people. It's very easy to sit at home and dwell on issues that become bigger and bigger. If you can get out and occupy your mind you feel healthy and feel as if you have recharged your batteries instead of wearing them down in the house. I find it really beneficial.
“The gardening project kept me occupied when in hospital and gave me a real interest in the outdoors, so I knew I wanted to help when I was discharged and give something back as I was treated really well by the staff, and they have helped my recovery greatly.
“The day after I was discharged, I was back for my first session, and I got to continue the relationships I had developed with the professionals who cared for me instead of just cutting them off. It’s always been a comfortable and safe environment and it’s a place I wanted to come back to. I wanted to be more than just a patient having treatment, I wanted to give something back. The staff always greet me with a smile, and they genuinely care about my wellbeing and that is what made me want to be a volunteer.
“It’s also been nice to engage with patients when gardening who have been grateful for my advice. I hope my support helps people realise they aren’t alone in their experiences.
“Being a volunteer makes me feel valued and that I am doing something of value that people acknowledge. If I weren’t a volunteer, I would be very isolated. It gives you a sense of self-worth having those relationships and benefitting the hospital.
“I would advise anyone to start volunteering because it's easy to think things won’t help how you are feeling but I would always say just give it a go, and you may be surprised at the difference it can make.”
We would like to extend a huge thank you to this volunteer for their time and dedication to helping our Trust.
If you would like to find out more about volunteering at Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, please email bchft.volunteers@nhs.net