British Red Cross helps hospital patients from door-to-door
Philip Trimble, an energetic 67- year-old, had been retired for a year when he came across the Red Cross hospital services.
“I’d spent a year doing up my house, had run out of things to renovate, and thought to myself, ‘There’s only so much golf a person can play!’”
Initially employed in a part-time role with the Red Cross at Antrim hospital, he stayed on as a volunteer when funding for that initial contract ran out.
“I was used to being busy as I was a telephony engineer before I retired, so I like being out and about, and there’s a lot of satisfaction when the patients are so clearly happy to be getting out of hospital.”
Philip’s role involves liaising with the nursing staff and being allocated a patient to take home. He spends time making sure the patient is comfortable and understands the process, and that they’ve got everything they need to go home – including their house keys!
“You’d be surprised how many times patients can’t find their keys, which is understandable if they’ve been in hospital for a long time,” he explains.
Philip and the volunteers take the patients and their bags from the hospital ward to their own front door, driving a Red Cross car. The patients must have reasonable mobility and no need of an ambulance transfer.
“It’s a no-brainer, I think. Patients get a personalised service and feel well supported and cared for, and it also saves the hospital trust and the ambulance service time and money. Sometimes a patient might need to use a wheelchair as they’ve lost some muscle strength after their time in hospital, or just feel a bit wobbly, so it all works really well.
“It’s nice to be able to support someone on a one-to-one basis.”
To find out more about independent living volunteering , visit www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer