Raising a cuppa to Swansea Bay's volunteers to thank them all for their dedication

Swansea Bay has been raising a cuppa to its small army of volunteers at two special events designed to thank them for their service.

The first of the “coffee and cake” gatherings was held in the community pavilion in Clydach’s Coed Gwilym Park, with the second following in the Cartrefi Social Bean Hub in Swansea city centre.

(Main image above shows volunteers at the thank-you event held in Swansea's Cartrefi Social Bean Hub)

Amongst those attending the Clydach event was 69-year-old Phil Rees, who volunteers on the front desk in Morriston Hospital.

He said: “I’ve been doing it for around nine and a half years. I had been retired a while and wanted to do something to help.

“When people come to the front desk, we give them directions and give them a bit of support should they need it. We get asked all sorts of things, and we help as best we can.”

Phil’s advice to anyone thinking of volunteering is simple – go for it. “It’s great,” he said. “It’s so rewarding. It’s amazing. Every one of the staff is friendly. People who volunteer have similar mindsets – it’s superb.”

To celebrate national Volunteers’ Week this week, Swansea Bay is highlighting the invaluable contributions made by people who donate their time to help others.

The health board’s volunteers undertake a variety of roles, from meeting and greeting on front desks to running tea bars and providing transport.

They do not replace paid staff but provide an invaluable service in improving the experience of patients and their families.

(Left: Phil Rees and Trish Thomas pictured at the Clydach event)

Also, at Coed Gwilym Park was Trish Thomas, who has been volunteering for 30 years, 20 of them at Ty Olwen before Covid forced a halt.

The 72-year-old then started with the Patient Advice and Liaison Service, delivering goods to patients on the wards where families could not go.

“We were called the bag runners,” said Trish. “We’d take the clean clothes to the patients on the ward and return the dirty clothes during Covid. That was great.”

Trish is now volunteering in the Emergency Department and says she loves it there.

“You feel as though you are helping the staff so much,” she added. “They are so stressed, so busy but what we do helps them a lot – as with all volunteers.

“Whatever department you are in, you are really helping the staff.”

Trish welcomed the Clydach event, saying it was lovely for the volunteers to be thanked. She also heartily recommended volunteering.

“You will get so much out of it I can’t put it in words. The satisfaction, appreciation, it’s a wonderful feeling to be a volunteer,” she said.

Among those at the Cartrefi Social Bean gathering, where Welsh cakes were donated by Mavis Davies bakery, was Pat Wootton, a trained dementia champion who volunteers at Singleton Hospital.

(Pictured are Pat Wootton, left, and Chris Goss)

“That’s my passion,” she said. “I just enjoy working with dementia patients. They are sometimes very confused, sometimes very frightened. And of course, the training I’ve had helps me engage with them and their loved ones. Sometimes they too need a little help and counselling.

“It’s a pleasure also to work with the staff. Sometimes if we have a patient who is particularly agitated, I can help to calm them down, make them feel more relaxed, and the staff are always very grateful.

“We work as a team. It’s lovely. I just find it very satisfying. It does pull the heartstrings sometimes. But then if you weren’t like that, you wouldn’t be doing any sort of volunteering.”

Also, there was Chris Goss, who volunteers in the Ty Olwen coffee shop in Morriston Hospital and the volunteer desk at Neath Port Talbot Hospital.

“I’m there on Wednesday mornings with another colleague,” she said. “We enjoy working together. It can be so busy sometimes, that it can take us all morning to finish a conversation!

“We direct patients with appointments where to go to. Sometimes if you see someone who perhaps hasn’t quite understood our directions we escort them to where they need to go. It’s very enjoyable working there.”

(Pictured: Volunteers enjoying the sun at Coed Gwilym Park)

Swansea Bay’s Volunteer Coordinator, Julia Griffiths, who organised the thank-you events, said there were around 300 active volunteers in Swansea Bay across 26 different areas.

“We have Ty Olwen palliative care roles, we have front desk in all of our hospitals, hearing aid repair clinic, ward volunteers, peer group supporters in traumatic brain injury,” she said.

“We have neonatal volunteers – people who have been through the service themselves and come back to help the other mums.

“The health board would function without volunteers, but I think it would be a very different place. The patient experience is vastly improved by their presence.

“They have the time to step back and stop and notice what’s going on with somebody.

“I want to say thank you so much. I’m overwhelmed every day by the dedication and commitment to all that they give.”

Follow this link to find out more about volunteering in Swansea Bay.