THE SMILING VOLUNTEER

Volunteers are the country’s unsung heroes. They change lives and contribute £20 billion to the UK economy. Volunteering is good for you too – research shows it can make you happier and more optimistic. We talk to a volunteer who shares her love of life with everyone she meets.

You only have to walk down the corridors of Longmoor House integrated care unit in Aintree to see the effect Louise Lamkin has on those around her. Ward staff grin when they spot the bubbly 35 year old. They seem genuinely pleased to see her. Some ask, hopefully, if she’ll be on their ward.

Louise exudes joy. It could be because she’s doing what she loves. From an early age she would visit a local care home to chat and play games with residents.

Her passion for volunteering came when she was just ten years old.

“I was in hospital having an operation on my hip,” she recalls. “I remember meeting some volunteers, they were kind to me, they made me feel happy. I wanted to be like them – I thought ‘this is my dream’.

She’s since volunteered for major organisations including Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Barnardo’s, and a Youth Hostel Association Hospice.

She’s now with Mersey Care, recently starting a placement at Longmoor House, after a spell as a meeter and greeter with The Life Rooms.

Each new placement means getting used to different surroundings, systems, and people. Louise is unfazed. “I get nervous, my tummy churns, but I’ve conquered my fears,” she smiles.

That smile did disappear back in 2020. Louise struggled with the isolation of the COVID lockdown. “It was horrible, I felt like my whole body was shutting down,” she recalls.

Now back on the job she’s upbeat and ready for work. With support from her mentor, she’s providing vital company for mainly older people who come to the integrated care service at Longmoor House, after they leave hospital before going home or into residential or nursing care.

Modern Matron Emma Evans says Louise is a huge asset to the team. She recalls only recently when a patient became unsettled while Louise was on the ward. “In that moment Louise recognised that the lady needed help and called a nurse. She’s made a big impact on all of us.” She glances over at Louise – they both smile.

Get In Touch

If you would like to talk to someone about volunteering with Mersey Care, contact the Social Inclusion and Participation team. Email: volunteering@merseycare.nhs.uk

For a list of volunteer opportunities visit: gov.uk.

I’ve spent most of my education ruling out what I didn’t want to do. I was never an Oxbridge candidate; at sixth form I did a dentistry placement, but knew it wasn’t for me. I studied, but I spent as much time practicing bass guitar for my band!

I was interested in nutrition and thought about physiotherapy, but I took my mum’s advice to keep it broad and did biological sciences at Lancaster. It made me realise lab coats and microscopes weren’t my thing – I needed to work with people.

I had friends who’d struggled with their mental health and was fascinated at how experience affects how we think. I researched careers in mental health, stumbled upon clinical psychology and enrolled on a Master’s course at Edge Hill University.

I needed practical experience, so I joined the NHS bank as a healthcare assistant and worked on wards in my free time. On one ward I watched as staff helped someone go from being very unwell to leaving the ward. I knew then I wanted to be a psychiatrist.

After a year preparing my application to the graduate medicine course at Liverpool University, it felt amazing to be offered a place.

I’ve just finished my psychiatry placement at Clock View; I was in awe of the way the consultant psychiatrist Dr Sumanth Kumar relates to patients.

Through it all I still make time for what I love, like weightlifting and triathlons. When you’re going to be doing a job for your entire life, I’ve learnt that it will take as long as it takes, don’t rush, enjoy life.

Spread Your Wings

If you’re interested in finding out more about working for Mersey Care, visit: merseycare.nhs.uk/working-us