Volunteers week 2021: Diendra
“I started volunteering in November 2019, as self-check in kiosk support in outpatients, which I found very ful filling, as I really like helping people, especially the elderly.
“While doing this role I found out that many people were not fluent in English and were unable to use the kiosks, and I was happy to help and direct them to appointments.
“I started volunteering because I was new to the UK and during the days after caring for the needs of my family, I still had some time on my hands. Being part of the social work sector for a number of years in my home country, the need to help people continued to be a natural way of life for me, and the hospital gave me this opportunity to serve.
“As a new volunteer in the system I attended mandatory training such as information governance, fire safety, manual handling and adult and child safeguarding. This training helped me to understand and deal with certain situations, if and when they arose.
“Volunteering is a complete joy as it gives me the opportunity to be able to provide much needed assistance, bring a smile to the faces of service users, while interacting with both staff and patients.
“After settling in my voluntary role, the pandemic struck, which proved to be a major challenge, and I had to take a break in March 2020. This was truly a trying time as I was not able to give any support and I was scared of the uncertainty of the virus.
“As my fears were being allayed by the safety measures put in place and the growing information on the pandemic, I was preparing to return to my volunteer role in January 2021, when an opportunity arose.
“As part of an NHSE project, the Volunteer Service was looking to up-scale volunteers into paid roles. I jumped at the opportunity, applied for the role and was successful. My current role as Liaison Support for staff, has now brought further opportunities and I will be moving on to longer term employment within the Trust.
“I’m grateful for the opportunities and am happy to have been a volunteer. I encourage others to jump at the chance to sign up to volunteer at the Trust, as you will get a sense of fulfilment and it may open doors for future opportunities.”