A year ago, the Daily Mail launched its Hospital Helpforce campaign, calling for volunteers to help boost the NHS through the charity Helpforce.
Some 34,000 big-hearted readers signed up, increasing the number of volunteers supporting Britain’s best-loved institution by a third.
Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett, founder and chair of Helpforce, said: ‘We were humbled by Daily Mail readers’ spirit of generosity.
‘The time these volunteers give means many more vulnerable patients have someone to talk to and rely on. It means more hard-working doctors and nurses have the support they need to focus on the job they trained so hard to do.’
For many, supporting the NHS has also offered an opportunity to make friends and take up new activities.
‘Volunteers tell me they are grateful for the opportunity to give back to the people who were there for them in times of trouble,’ says Sir Thomas. ‘This is the spirit that drives our NHS.’
Here, volunteers share the stories of how they’ve given their all to the NHS over the past year . . .
I JOINED UP IN A CINEMA QUEUE
Michelle Varndell, 48, a Pilates instructor, lives in Seaford, Sussex, with her husband Matthew, 48, and their two children, aged 16 and 11. She started volunteering at Lewes Victoria Hospital in Sussex four months ago.
Michelle Varndell, 48, a Pilates instructor, lives in Seaford, Sussex, with her husband Matthew. She started volunteering at Lewes Victoria Hospital in Sussex four months ago
When I read about the campaign last Christmas, I was so taken with the idea that I signed up on the spot in a cinema queue.
It’s been such a positive experience for me — I’ve even begun striking up conversations with strangers when out and about, as volunteering seems to have reignited that desire to connect with others.
I had some fertility problems when I was younger and needed operations, so if it wasn’t for the NHS I might not have had my two children.
Now, after 16 years as a stay-at-home mum, I’ve gone back to work as a Pilates instructor as well as volunteering for two hours a week helping patients who have had hip replacements, falls or amputations get mobile again.
I don’t need my Pilates instructor qualifications for this, but it certainly uses the same sort of people skills.
I help out at two classes led by physiotherapists — I’m there to lend a hand to anyone who needs it.
Most of all, though, I just love chatting to the patients, who have led such interesting lives. One man was a marathon runner who had competed at events all round the world.
What I do is a tiny bit of what goes on in the unit, but I like to think it makes a difference — I walk out smiling and feeling fulfilled. It’s even made me consider training as a rehabilitation service worker, to help patients recover.
WE MADE NEW FRIENDS AND FEEL FULFILLED
Kay Wilkinson, 69, a former publishing company manager from West Yorkshire, and her husband, Ted, 69, a retired firefighter, volunteered together.
Since July, Kay has been helping in a cafe at Lynfield Mount Hospital in Bradford, while Ted helps nurses in a county-wide school immunisation programme.
![Since July, Kay has been helping in a cafe at Lynfield Mount Hospital in Bradford, while Ted helps nurses in a county-wide school immunisation programme](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12/18/22/22423262-7807081-image-a-20_1576707185881.jpg)
Since July, Kay has been helping in a cafe at Lynfield Mount Hospital in Bradford, while Ted helps nurses in a county-wide school immunisation programme
Kay says: A man singing and playing the guitar recently held me utterly transfixed for far more than his beautiful, soaring voice.
The fiftysomething singer was a patient in the mental health centre, yet had chosen to play in front of everyone at our fortnightly music session.
He was followed by a young woman — another patient.
Our cafe offers much more than coffee. I work alongside a mixture of NHS staff and volunteers who are so cheerful and encouraging.
The manager, Annette, often puts her arms around patients and gives them a huge hug. I spend half a day each week here, but I’m planning to extend to a full day. I’ve made new friends and found something else meaningful to do in my retirement.
Ted says: The nurses I work with tell me that, before I volunteered, they would be left trying to help any child who fainted at the sight of a needle; in the meantime, other children would become distressed, and vaccinations would be delayed.
Now, I’m there to reassure anyone who keels over — and keep the other children calm. Having an adult to chat to calms them right down, and we end up laughing and joking. They remind me of my own grandchildren, now in their 20s.
When I applied as a volunteer, they clearly looked carefully at the application and asked me if I fancied this role.
Perhaps they thought having been in the Navy I could help run a tight ship! I do two full days a week, helping nurses immunise 400 to 500 children at a time.
Kay and I enjoy chatting about our volunteering. I’m even invited to the nurses’ Christmas lunch — the only man present!
I LOVE BEING ABLE TO WEAR SCRUBS AGAIN
Peter Fleming, 65, a retired dentist, lives in Morpeth, Northumberland, with his wife, Mary, 60. The couple have six children.
Peter has been a children’s theatre support volunteer at the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle since September.
![Peter has been a children's theatre support volunteer at the Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle since September](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12/18/20/22418298-7807081-Peter_has_been_a_children_s_theatre_support_volunteer_at_the_Gre-m-8_1576701326451.jpg)
Peter has been a children’s theatre support volunteer at the Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle since September
At one time, I ran three dental practices. I kept it all going smoothly using humour — particularly with children.
I’d blow up plastic gloves and draw faces on them and crack corny jokes. I think I built a reputation for being a daft, but good, dentist.
I had such a busy work and family life I never had time to develop any hobbies. And now, thanks to Helpforce, I feel busy and useful again. I look after families and accompany children down to the operating theatre.
Families sometimes have to wait a few hours for their child’s slot, and it can be a stressful, scary time.
I’ll ask the children to choose a toy to take to the operating theatre and make them giggle. I’m not afraid to be daft, but I don’t overstep the mark, just lighten the atmosphere.
Surprisingly the children don’t often cry — it’s usually the parents that collapse in tears, and I comfort them. I go in once a week and will probably meet a dozen families.
It helps free up the professionals to do their job, which is immensely satisfying to know, plus I love being in my scrubs again — I’d missed being in a medical environment.
I’M FIT AND WELL — I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Grandmother-of-three Nicky Purcaro, 61, a semi-retired company director, lives in Cheltenham with her husband, John, 64.
She has been a patient befriender and survey taker at Cheltenham General Hospital since July.
![Nicky has been a patient befriender and survey taker at Cheltenham General Hospital since July](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12/18/20/22418346-7807081-image-a-7_1576701299191.jpg)
Nicky has been a patient befriender and survey taker at Cheltenham General Hospital since July
I’m a firm believer that, if you’re fit and healthy, you should help others. In the past I’ve been a special constable, and when I saw the Daily Mail campaign, I thought this would be perfect for me.
I’m a big fan of the NHS — it’s patched me and my family up before, and I would have loved to have been a nurse, but I wasn’t that academic at school. I’ve got lots of common sense, but they don’t do degrees in that!
I’m also one of life’s talkers and the volunteer manager thought I’d be great as a befriender. Being into football helps a lot — fans like to talk about their team.
Older people laugh when I tell them my great aunt was one of the first people in Cheltenham to get a TV, and she sold tickets to watch the Coronation in her front room.
I’ve been asking patients to take part in satisfaction surveys, too. Apparently, it’s difficult to get patients to do these, but so far everyone has said yes. It’s supposed to take three minutes, but it can go for longer if we get talking!
I’LL NEVER FORGET THE NHS CARE I HAD
Julie McKenzie, 58, a part-time garden centre assistant, lives in Bushey, Hertfordshire.
She started volunteering as a golf buggy driver at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore in August.
![Julie started volunteering as a golf buggy driver at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore in August](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/12/18/20/22418682-7807081-image-a-14_1576701817411.jpg)
Julie started volunteering as a golf buggy driver at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore in August
Last Christmas’s Daily Mail Hospital Helpforce campaign really struck a chord with me.
I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 22 years ago, but I’ve been lucky and haven’t had any flare-ups since then.
Yet I’ve never forgotten the care I received. Volunteering struck me as a way to give back, and now I spend three-and- a-half hours every Tuesday driving patients in a golf buggy from the car park to the hospital so they don’t have to struggle up the steep hill.
Being outdoors appealed to me much more than sitting in an office. The vehicles are simple to drive and can turn on a sixpence.
We use walkie talkies to arrange pick-ups with reception and have our own slang — the buggy park is the ‘bat cave’, as it’s a bit dark, but I only drive at 10mph, not like Batman!
The best part is meeting the patients. Some of them have come hundreds of miles to be treated, and it’s nice to make their journey a bit easier.
If you’d like to volunteer, contact your local NHS Trust. Find out more at helpforce.community