A warm welcome back to our unsung heroes

Our volunteers were sorely missed during the COVID induced hiatus, and were recently welcomed back to Sydney/Sydney Eye Hospital at a forum held in June.

 

As well as staffing The Little Shop which sells a variety of hand crafted goods and the Lucy Osborne Nightingale museum and helping out in the medical library, volunteers enhance Sydney/Sydney Eye Hospital in a myriad of ways.



Before COVID, they visited wards with trolleys of goods, cheering up patients with simple pleasures such as bringing them a cup of tea or buying them the newspaper.



During COVID, volunteers were able to be kept engaged from afar by helping to knit and crochet a stunning field of red poppies, displayed on ANZAC Day this year in the courtyard of the hospital as a way of honouring all those who served and died in war.

 

“A lot of the patients who come to Sydney Hospital are elderly and sight impaired, so extra pairs of hands to help them find their way, and make them feel cared for are just so welcome,” said Jasmin Kollin, Acting Nurse Manager Executive Support.

 

The volunteers become a friendly face around the hospital who are always up for a chat. “The human care factor is so important and the volunteers deliver that quality in spades,” Ms Kollin said.

 

“They bring so much to the hospital, and many of them say it brings meaning to their lives – it’s a way of being productive, making friends and meeting people,” said Ms Kollin.

 

During the forum, they brainstormed new ways they could help out around the hospital and look forward to getting back on site. “They are such a tremendous asset,” she said. “We’ve missed them.”