Could you spare an hour or two over the Festive Season? - The Friends of St Cross and Age UK Warwickshire are launching a joint appeal for volunteers to visit and befriend patients in the Hospital of St Cross over the Festive Season.
Patients at the hospital, which is managed by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust, can enjoy a variety of activities. Playing games such as dominoes or scrabble, or using the Artie art cart available to patients, are great ways to open up conversations which can be rewarding for both the patients and befrienders.
Chris Seddon, Modern Matron at the Hospital of St Cross, said “Unfortunately we will have many patients at St Cross who will not be well enough to be discharged home before Christmas. They may also not have friends or relatives nearby who can visit them. This is a great initiative being launched by the Friends of St Cross and Age UK Warwickshire to help give people some much-needed company.”
Kristine Davies, Head of Voluntary Services for UHCW NHS Trust, said “We have a well-established Healing Arts programme to help improve the experience and environment for our patients. Our activity co-ordinators work with ward staff and volunteers from the Friends of St Cross and the Good Times Project to keep patients occupied while they’re in hospital. We have seen the benefits these initiatives bring to help patients all year round. Christmas can be an especially lonely time, so it is great to team up with the Friends and Age UK Warwickshire to reach out into the community for more volunteers over the festive season.
We have special arrangements in place for this initiative so people won’t have to be a registered volunteer with either charity, though of course that helps. We just need to know who you are and on which days you can be available during normal visiting hours of 2pm to 4pm from the 24th December 2017 to 2nd January inclusive 2018!! ”
Nikki Gill, Befriending Co-ordinator for Age UK Warwickshire, said “We often receive offers from members of the public who would like to volunteer at the weekend. Unfortunately we have not been able to place them for a variety of administrative reasons and so are delighted to work with the hospital and the Friends of St Cross to be able to tap into the great goodwill that we know is around.”
Willy Goldschmidt, Chairman of the Friends of St Cross, said “we would like people interested in cheering up patients during the Festive season to register with us as soon as possible by completing this form and emailing it to
Photo: A patient from Coventry and a Friends Befriending Volunteer met recently in Mulberry Ward at the Hospital of St Cross