Volunteers
The role of the volunteer within St Barnabas Hospice is recognised and valued as an essential part of patient care. Involvement in all areas of care demands qualities of compassion, sensitivity, common sense, together with a flexible and non judgmental approach.
There is a wide range of volunteers who support the staff at St Barnabas in almost every aspect of their work. We have volunteers whose ages range from 16 to 90! and with over 1,000 people working for us throughout the county of Lincolnshire, they far outweigh the number of staff. Without them we could not give the quantity and quality of service that we provide to so many people. The volunteers are also vital in expanding the possibilities available to the hospice for patients and their families.
Please click here to visit our Vacancies page.
There are opportunities to work in a variety of areas which include:
- On the Wards In-Patient Unit
- Day Hospice
- Complementary Therapist
- Arts and Crafts
- Artists
- Hospice at Home volunteer
- Gardeners
- Drivers
- Receptionist
- Fund Raiser
- Shops
- Bereavement Support
- Escort
- Chaplains
- Flower Ladies
- Librarian
- Administration (Office)
Volunteers can:
- Learn New Skills
- Make New Friends
- Achieve satisfaction by giving something back
- Serve as part of a dedicated team, caring for those in need.
Some volunteers gain experience and confidence – others bring a lifetime's knowledge.
One volunteer who has been with us for 9 years is Alice who describes her role as –
"Being a volunteer at St Barnabas is a privilege in many ways. The commitment of the professional staff to the patients is always in evidence and I see our role as offering help, support and understanding whenever this is needed. In the Day Centre, patients partake in various activities on offer – mainly arts and crafts – in which those volunteers who are talented offer their skills with the main aim of contributing to the general well-being of patients in attendance.
The ability to communicate with patients is, I feel, one of the most important aspects of my role but this does not always necessitate ‘talking’. Kindness, warmth, understanding, compassion, ability to listen or even just sitting quietly with a patient is often all that is needed. When patients first attend the Day Centre there is, for some, an understandable high level of anxiety and it is over the following few weeks, if the previously mentioned skills are present, a patient will, hopefully, become to feel more relaxed and will be ablr to look forward to coming. A friendly sympathetic attitude shown by a volunteer can be very welcome in such circumstances.
To me the most gratifying part is the fact that I am able to transfer learned skills from my professional career to enhance the quality of patients' lives as well as those of their carers".