Volunteering

Volunteers in the Southern Trust enhance the quality of care or service provided to service users. Our team of over 320 volunteers provide extra support to patients, just as friends or family members might do, making the service users’ experience more comfortable and a little friendlier for everyone.

Why volunteer?
Who can volunteer?
Volunteering opportunities
How to get involved?
Volunteers Leaflet

Central volunteer service enquiries

Rebekah Lee (Administrator) Tel. 028 3756 3946 rebekah.lee@southerntrust.hscni.net

Volunteers do not carry out (or shadow) clinical work or short-term work experience placements.

Why volunteer?

Volunteering is a way of becoming involved in your local community and the hospital. Volunteers are located across the Trust, participating in a variety of ways all contributing to improving the patient experience. They are an integral part of the Trust and are highly valued by staff, patients, service users and visitors. There are lots of reasons why people choose to become a volunteer within the Southern Health & Social Care Trust such as to:

Give something back to the Trust after you or a family member has been treated here
Make new friends
Become an active citizen within your community
Develop new and useful skills and support your personal development with future job applications, UCAS forms, Duke of Edinburgh Awards, and records of achievements
Explore career prospects - gaining valuable experience of working in a hospital or health and social care setting

Who can volunteer?

The Southern Trust welcomes volunteers from all walks of life and represent the diversity of the communities that we serve. We offer a host of opportunities to suit all skills and aspirations.

We would like to hear from you if you are:

over 16
good at mixing with people
enjoy helping others
want to develop your own skills as an individual.

We ask you to commit to at least one year volunteering with us, so we can create a long-lasting and meaningful role for you. Volunteers can claim out of pocket travel expenses.

Our volunteers are thanked in many ways:

Awards and Certificates
Volunteer Recognition Event
Support from Volunteer Service Manager/Key Worker

Volunteering opportunities

Current volunteering opportunities across the Trust area include:

Meal Time Support

The volunteers will offer encouragement and support to hospital patients and service users within a community setting requiring assistance at mealtimes to help them get ready for their meal, to eat and enjoy their food and receive good nutrition

Fit4U

Volunteers would be required for 2 – 3 hours per week and would provide support and encouragement to service users with physical/sensory disabilities to improve their health through participation in a range of physical activity and leisure opportunities

*NEW! Emergency Department

Volunteers would meet and greet service users in the Emergency department and provide support such as conversation and companionship (if required). The volunteer will support service users and family with directions to the Triage room and other departments within the Emergency department.

Mandeville Unit

Support and assist patients within the McMillan Unit by meeting and greeting patients and their family; signposting to other areas e.g. Macmillan Hub, canteen or coffee doc; escort patients (if required) to x-ray or pharmacy. Replenish resources such as leaflets.

*NEW! Promoting Wellbeing Hub

Support service users and staff with resources such as booklets, leaflets and other sources of information related to health and wellbeing issues. Signpost to services or training that can help improve health and wellbeing

*NEW! Day Surgery Companion

To provide companionship to patients by listening to them and providing conversation. To support patients after surgery with meal time support. To sign post patient and/or family to other departments within the hospital setting.

Paediatric Centre

To support and assist young patients by providing play and distraction to e.g. reading, completing jigsaws, bedside activities such as colouring, word search, dot-to-dot. Rhyme time.

Day Centres/ Residential Homes

Volunteers are required in a range of centres across the Trust to support activities such as arts and crafts, indoor gardening and meal time support with service users including older people and people with disabilities both physical and learning.

Do you have a particular interest, skill or talent?

If you have a particular area of interest that you would like to volunteer in, tell us about it and we will do our best to explore the options available.

This is a flavour of the volunteering roles on offer, so if you have some spare time and are interested in volunteering you can apply to volunteer by contacting the Central Volunteer Service.

Central volunteer service enquiries

Rebekah Lee (Administrator) Tel. 028 3756 3946 rebekah.lee@southerntrust.hscni.net

How to get involved

Apply to volunteer by contacting the central volunteer service number: (028) 3756 3946. You will be given an appointment to meet with the volunteer coordinator in your area.

Volunteer Pack:

You can download and complete the forms below prior to your appointment.
Application Form
Consent Form
Equality Monitoring Form
Parent/Guardian Consent Form

Volunteer Coordinators’ contact details

Gerardette McVeigh (covering Craigavon & Banbridge)
Tel: 028 3756 3949 Email: gerardette.mcveigh@southerntrust.hscni.net

Kate Johnston (covering Armagh & Dungannon)
Tel: 028 3756 4498 Email: kate.johnston@southerntrust.hscni.net

Donna Sloan (covering Newry & Mourne)
Tel: 028 37566295 Email: donna.sloan@southerntrust.hscni.net