Volunteers launch social group for patients in Swansea cafe

Volunteers at Ty Olwen based at Morriston Hospital are spreading their wings by launching a social group for patients in a Swansea café.

Once a fortnight they welcome patients receiving support from the Specialist Palliative Care team to the Cartrefi Social Bean Hub in St Mary’s Square.

There the patients can share experiences with people in a similar situation to their own and enjoy arts and crafts and music sessions – away from a hospital setting.

(Main photo above, and the picture below, show social group member Angela Pridmore and volunteer Alison McNamara)

The team of volunteers at Ty Olwen is now more than 30 strong. They do everything from running the tea bar and keeping the garden looking its best, providing volunteer transport and supporting patients and families on the wards.

They have now linked with Cartrefi Cymru Co-Operative, a not-for-profit organisation that mainly supports people with learning disabilities.

It runs the Social Bean Hub, which the Ty Olwen volunteers have been hiring every other Wednesday since early April.

“It’s for our community patients who would benefit from support and companionship from Ty Olwen,” said Helen Martin, who manages the Ty Olwen volunteer team.

“When you’re ill and don’t get out to see your friends as much, it can be a very isolating experience.

“Now, the patients can come in and they can talk about whatever they want, or about anything that’s on their mind. We have our team of fantastic volunteers who can support that.

“The feedback from the patients has been great. They are very pleased to have somewhere they can come and meet other people in the same situation as theirs.

“A bit of peer support from each other has been great to see. And it’s away from a hospital setting, which was deliberate. We don’t want people to feel as if they are in a medical environment.”

Helen said one of the meetings included music from volunteer Aly Loring, while another involved card-making.

“We have asked the people what they want to do, like painting or whatever,” she added. “But it’s mostly about giving them the opportunity to get away from home and speak about things that maybe they would prefer not to talk to their family about.”

One participant, Angela Pridmore, from Fforestfach said: “I’ve been looking for outlets so when I was contacted about the social group, I was very interested.

“This is my third session here. It has been very interesting and enjoyable.

“We’ve shared stories and had a music session, which was really uplifting. It’s great. I would advise anyone to come along if they are able to.”

Alison McNamara, who lives in Clydach, volunteers on the Ty Olwen inpatient unit and also supports the social group. She is a relative newcomer, having joined the volunteering ranks earlier this year.

Alison lost her first husband eight years ago. He was in a hospice in Warwickshire at the end of his life and Alison fundraised for it by walking 1,000 miles over the space of a year.

But, she said, she wanted to do more than just raise money. Since moving to Wales, Alison, who remarried and has a young son, has completed a psychology degree.

“I would like to become a counsellor,” she said. “I was looking around for places to volunteer to get some experience of talking to people with the purpose of helping them.

“It can be tough on the ward. But here we do things like card-making, there’s a bit more space and it’s a social get-together, which is nice.”

(Right: Angela with Cartrefi Cymru Co-Operative project manager Claire Lewis)

So far only a limited number of patients have attended the social group, but Helen hopes it will grow as more of them become aware of it.

“If anyone who is looked after by the specialist palliative care team would like to come along, we would welcome them,” she said.

“It’s in central Swansea. They can be dropped off right outside the door and the bus station and taxi rank are really close.

“We took a long time choosing a venue. Cartrefi have been really accommodating. They completely got from the beginning what we were trying to achieve, and they have made us so welcome.

“They have their own volunteers who come in and serve us. It’s good for them, as well, to be able to see their beautiful facility used by the wider population.”

Anyone receiving specialist palliative care who would like to attend can email helen.martin6@wales.nhs.uk.