COLUMN: Care to join a team 'worth its weight in gold'?

​With the start of a new year are you looking for a resolution? Have you ever considered volunteering?

Across our hospitals in Lincoln, Boston and Grantham we have an amazing team of about 200 volunteers who provide valuable support to our patients and staff.

During 2023, they dedicated more than 37,000 hours of their time and helped 150,000 people. They really are amazing.

The trust has a wide range of volunteering opportunities, from patient-facing to office-based, administrative roles. We can work around you and your availability. There really is something for everyone. The longest serving volunteer has been with the trust for 28 years, which is truly awesome.

Our volunteers talk about the immense satisfaction they get from helping others, as well as the friendship and the sense of pride and knowing at the end of the day that they have made a real difference.

They can be identified with their bright yellow tops and, as far as I am concerned, they are worth their weight in gold.

This year has been hugely successful for our volunteers and the continued support they provide is truly inspiring.

We are now recruiting two new voluntary services supervisors to help increase our recruitment even further and to support our amazing volunteers.

I want to offer a massive ‘thank you’ to all our volunteers, their work not only supports our patients and their families, but also staff too.

Recently the trust’s volunteers enjoyed a Christmas lunch together funded by the United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity. For me, this is one of the highlights of my year as it gives us an opportunity to recognise and thank all of our dedicated volunteers for their hard work over the year. It is great to have everyone together and also reflect on what we have achieved.

I personally look forward to seeing what 2024 brings.

To find out more about volunteering for ULHT, please contact [email protected] or visit www.ulh.nhs.uk/jobs/working-for-us/volunteering/

Andy Tysoe is voluntary services manager for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which is responsible for the running of Lincoln County Hospital, Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital, and Grantham and District Hospital

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