Volunteer: Side by Side Hospital Volunteer, Lurgan

What’s involved? 

You might be chatting with patients, reading a paper with them, listening to music, or playing a game of cards. This all helps people to grow their confidence and enable them to feel valued.  

About you: 

Whatever your reason for volunteering you don’t need any experience in health and social care, just a willingness to learn about dementia and an enthusiasm for helping people. You need to enjoy chatting and to be patient with people if needed. You will need to explore what each person living with dementia wants to talk about or do. 

The impact you’ll make: 

People living with dementia can find the unfamiliar hospital environment lonely and frightening. You can help by keeping them company, reassuring them, and letting them talk about the things they want to. You will be enabling the people you support to stay connected and feel valued which is a vital part of the fight against dementia. 

What you need to know: 

We need to ensure that people living with dementia who benefit from our services are safe. In order for us to do this we interview, check and train our volunteers. If you have accessibility need we’ll make reasonable adjustments to enable you to volunteer. As you will be working on a hospital site, you will need to complete the hospital’s induction and you may also be issued with a hospital identity card or need to wear a uniform as well. This role also requires a criminal records check – there’s more information in the role description. 

We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds, communities and experiences. We will make you feel welcome, included and respected because together we are united.