We welcome back some of our wonderful volunteers to the Royal Derby Hospital
We paused many of our volunteering roles in March as the country went into lockdown. After months of being away from the Trust, volunteers who support UHDB are slowly beginning to return to our hospitals.
Some of our Buggy Driver Volunteers returned to the Royal Derby last week, we caught up with them to see how they have been getting on.
Tarlochan volunteered as a Patient Buggy Driver for over eight years before he had to stand down from his role as a volunteer at the hospital throughout the pandemic.
When speaking about his love for his volunteering role, Tarlochan said: “I am so glad to be back at the hospital and helping people, I live for helping my community – I want to be present where I can provide support to people, I have missed my volunteering role so much throughout lockdown.
“My main target in life is to help those that need me. Being part of the Sikh Community means putting yourself out there to help others the best you can.”
Tarlochan said that he wasn’t worried about coming back as the new processes were well explained to him by the volunteering team. He said, his wife and family are “the best around” and have been incredibly supportive about him returning to volunteer at the hospital. He also went on to speak about the support he has received from the Volunteer Co-ordinators, Jo and Sam, he continued: “They have been brilliant at welcoming us back and retraining us with regards to the changes at the hospital – it’s nice to be back with fellow volunteers and my team – we will all count on each other to look after one another.”
David also volunteered as a “Meet and Greet” volunteer for just over a year before the pandemic hit the UK. We’re pleased to have him back in a 
new role driving one of our Patient Buggies around the Royal Derby Hospital, helping patients get to where they need to go.
David said, “It’s great to be back volunteering in the hospital and seeing all the warm, familiar faces I used to work so closely with.
“I have missed my volunteering role and the laughs and chats I regularly had with staff, patients and visitors – the role gets you talking and interacting with people from all walks of life. From doing this role, to going in to a lockdown, it did become quite lonely.
“I am glad that I am back, I understand the risks associated with coming back in to my volunteering role at the hospital, but this is something that I want to do and to help contribute where I can at my local hospital.”
Jo Popkin, Voluntary Services Co-ordinator, said: “We have some of the most amazing staff at our hospitals, but we are also reliant on the support of some fantastic volunteers too – we’re so happy to see some familiar volunteer faces returning to our hospitals to help out where they can.
“We’re so proud of how they have adapted to the changes around the hospital since they last volunteered. Please be kind and patient with our volunteers whilst they still get to grips with the “new-normal”.”
All volunteers who have returned to the Trust have gone through the new Trust induction preparing them and training them on all the changes in the Trust including; wearing the appropriate PPE, Hand Hygiene, Social Distancing and general health and safety.
A couple of changes have been made to our Patient Buggy Service to ensure that it is Covid Secure. These changes include:
- Wiping down the vehicle after every use
- No mixing of more than one household when sat on the buggy
These changes will cause a few delays to the service, but we thank you for your understanding and patience.