KCHC-AR-2023 Final Signed - Flipbook - Page 12
How did we do?
Helping to sustain and
grow King’s Volunteers
This year we took our support for King’s Volunteers even further,
working in partnership with King's to strengthen this team that makes
such a difference to people's hospital experience.
We have committed £200,000 of new funding over the
next two years to support King’s Volunteers to expand
and strengthen their role right at the heart of King’s
hospitals.
During 2022/23, an incredible 1,503 King’s volunteers
contributed 70,006 hours to help make people feel
more comfortable and relaxed in hospital. We were
thrilled to see this contribution recognised at the King’s
Stars Awards where the team picked up the Chairman's
Award.
"The support we receive from the Charity enables us to
increase the reach of our volunteers across King's, which
results in the service being able to support even more
patients," explains Luke Palmer, Patient Experience
and Involvement Lead at the Trust. "It has also given us
the opportunity to innovate and develop new services in
response to feedback we receive from our patients."
Reflecting Kings' diversity
Thanks to the funding we secured last year from the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport and
NHS Charities Together through the Volunteer Futures
Fund, we are now able to support more young people
from local schools to overcome barriers that can
prevent them from getting involved and reaping the
rewards of volunteering.
With a wide cross-section of volunteers from all over
London and Kent, King's wanted to increase the
number of opportunities available, especially
for young people interested in a career in
healthcare unaware of the opportunities
open to them. The team therefore
focused on students working
towards a BTEC qualification
in Health and Social Care which
is a less conventional route
into a career in healthcare.
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S U P P O R T K I N G S .O R G .U K
Their Youth Engagement Coordinator works with
teachers and work experience coordinators to identify
and refer young people and provide pastoral care for
those who would most benefit from volunteering to
improve their skills and confidence.
Helping to alleviate boredom and isolation
Long stays in hospital can lead to increased patient
boredom and anxiety, exacerbating what is already a
stressful experience. Our previous investment in the
patient entertainment portal, a digital space where
patients can access digitised magazines, games, radio
and TV channels, and more, has been widely used by
thousands of patients across King's hospitals.
While young volunteers take on a variety of roles,
they play a particularly vital part in distributing
the patient entertainment system and
supporting people to use it.
1,500
devices loaned
Long-term patient Joan Scott explains
the difference entertainment is making:
“I’ve been in hospital for months with severe emphysema.
My parents come to visit most days and take me out in
a wheelchair every week, but it can feel really hard to
be stuck inside. It hurts my eyes to watch anything on
my small phone screen, so being able to borrow a tablet
with a big screen and easy access to Freeview makes the
boredom so much more manageable.”
