Volunteering: making a difference to people’s lives
Volunteering Opportunities
Engaging with health conditions and volunteering is a great way to develop skills, learn, and to give something back. As a department, we want to offer as many volunteering opportunities as we can to patients as well as their relatives and friends. I wanted to give you a quick reminder of the existing opportunities across the Salford Royal kidney network!
If you want to learn a new skill and have a real impact on patients, then becoming a volunteer complementary therapist may be for you. Our complementary therapists provide various treatments such as hand, neck and leg massages to patients whilst they are on dialysis. You can find out the advert here and if you’re interested, you can contact Janet Cairnie (Complementary Therapy Coordinator) at janet.cairnie@srft.nhs.uk for more info.
Our new Entertainment Coordinator is also a fun way to develop skills and give something back to patients. The role involves volunteering a couple of hours of your time each week to help organise events for patients on and off dialysis such as bingo and day trips. You can read our blog about this fantastic role here and find the advert here.
Both roles will help make dialysis a better experience for patients and offer a flexible way of getting involved in our renal community across the Salford Royal kidney network.
However, there are other ways for patients and carers to use their expertise and knowledge to contribute. The British Medical Journal (BMJ) is an international medical journal that publishes articles about medical news, research, campaigns etc. The journal offers a brilliant opportunity for patients and carers to review the articles submitted to them for publication. Patient reviewers do not need medical or scientific training and it is flexible to when you have the time to do it. The opportunity provides a unique way of engaging with health and healthcare whilst also allowing the patient voice to be heard. You can find out more about the role here and the benefits of being involved.
Check out our opportunities with the department and see if the BMJ role is for you!
If you have any questions about any of these opportunities, please feel free to contact me (Robert Ward) at robert.ward@srft.nhs.uk or 07720945964.