Celebrating National Volunteers Week

Across our Local Health District volunteers in a variety of roles make an enormous difference to quality of care.

From hospital-based roles to caring for people in the community, volunteering is an essential part of healthcare in Australia. It benefits all of us – from patients and families to healthcare staff, as well as the volunteers themselves, who give their time for the invaluable reward of helping others.

Join us this week in thanking all of our amazing volunteers across the District and read the stories ofjust a few in the gallery of images below. For general information, including about how to volunteer, check out our website: www.nsw.gov.au/health/ nbmlhd/get-involved/volunteering# :~:text=Contact%2520the%2520vo lunteer%2520office%2520on,launc h%252C%2520available%2520free %2520to%2520volunteers

Volunteer roles at Nepean Hospital include hospital guides and assistants in our shop, on the wards and in the archives, and as part of our fundraising team.

“Ijustlovecominginahelpingpeople,” says Estelle, one of our volunteers at Nepean Hospital.

“It’s the people that make it special –the visitors, the staff and the patients, as well as the other volunteers.”

If you are interested in volunteering at Nepean Hospital, please contact the volunteer office on (02) 4734 3683, open Monday to Friday 8am to 2ppm, to register your interest.

The Nepean cancer and Wellness centre is supported by a team of wonderful volunteers, including Margaret, Alex and Bev.

Margaret: “There’s a lot of information and supports that patients and carers often don’t know about, and we can help provide that information.”

Alex: “I make sure people are comfortable, and it’s not all serious work. There’s a lot of beautiful moments where you find joy and can give joy to the patients and families.”

Bev: “We don’t have to talk about cancer, people often just like a chat, and there’s a lot of single people who come in and have no one else at home.”

Natalia (volunteer coordinator): “It’s having a familiar face that’s often important. These beautiful volunteers can often make all the difference when someone comes into the cancer centre”. For further information contact NBMLHD-Volunteers@health.nsw. gov.au or through our external partner the cancer council, by emailing Natalia.arnas@nswcc.org.au