Thank You

Adele Trathan speaks to Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust about how they are celebrating Volunteers’ Week from 1st to 7th June 2022

Volunteers’ Week celebrates the millions of people in the UK who give up their time to help others.

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust is the main provider of NHS community services in Sussex, and they are marking this year’s event by saying a huge “Thank you” to their volunteers for their amazing support. This includes volunteers from the RVS NHS Responders Programme and many volunteers from other charitable organisations.

Without their help, the Trust could not have played a key role in the COVID-19 vaccination programme across Sussex over the past 18 months.

More than 1,000 people responded to the call to become a volunteer to steward and meet and greet members of the public coming in for their vaccination, offer a friendly face and give support to those who may have been anxious. This enabled the clinical teams to deliver over 900,000 jabs at all of the vaccination sites.

They have received some wonderful feedback, showing just how important the volunteers are:

“What a well-organised operation! It feels truly unbelievable,” said one patient.

“Awesome and friendly, made my experience so much more pleasant,” said another.

“Thank you so much. Everyone was friendly, informative, and very kind. Well done!” was the verdict from a third.

Besides the pandemic, more than 180 volunteers are currently supporting the Trust’s teams in many other ways, from assisting people in community hospitals to befriending others in the community who may be vulnerable to loneliness and isolation. Almost 500 volunteers were supporting the Trust’s work in the months before the outbreak. But when COVID-19 arrived, many chose to retire.

Now that the worst of the pandemic is hopefully over, the Trust are aiming to restore their volunteer numbers to their previous levels.

There are many positions to choose from to help your local NHS, each one vital to the Trust’s mission to deliver excellent care at the heart of the community.

The Trust are also continually creating new roles and making improvements to ensure volunteers continue to have a positive and rewarding experience. Their ‘Investing in Volunteering’ accreditation is testament to this enduring commitment.

Volunteering to support your NHS will help you find new friends, learn new skills, and improve your confidence while giving back to your community, and only needs to be an hour or two a week.

Volunteers play a vital role in the NHS and put simply, the Trust could not do what they do without them. If you want to join their amazing team of volunteers, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust look forward to welcoming you. l For further details: www.sussexcommunity.nhs.uk/work-with-us/ SC-TR.Voluntary-Services@nhs.net 01273 696 011 Ext: 8388

More than 1,000 people responded to the call for volunteers to suppport the programme