Exeter Community Hospital League of Friends
Volunteers at Exeter Community Hospital help ensure patients are content and comfortable during their hospitals stays. Regular musical concerts are the most popular service provided by the League. “The musicians are friendly and are good at engaging patients,” says volunteer co-ordinator Zoe Oldman. “They play songs of the ‘60s and ‘70s from the patients’ youth.”
The League transformed plain paving slabs behind the hospital into a clean patio space with plants and garden furniture. It is now an area for patients and their visitors to enjoy the fresh air together. The project was made possible through the employee volunteer scheme of local company EDF Energy and donations from nearby businesses.
All projects at Exeter Community Hospital are supported by community involvement and committed local volunteers many attracted from homes nearby. Volunteer activities include visiting with patients, meeting and greeting visitors, operating a trolley shop, and fundraising for extra hospital equipment.
“When we were first founded the nice director of Attend Retail, Pat Hunter, was very helpful and provided lots of practical advice on getting the Trolley shop started,” says volunteer co-ordinator Zoe Oldman. The Exeter Community Hospital League of Friends was organised upon recommendation from the NHS and relied on strategic support from Attend to launch the organisation in 2009. The first chair of the League was a retired doctor and founding members were matrons and nurses from the hospital so it retains a close relationship with the medical staff.
Created December 2012
The Exeter Community Hospital League of Friends are former Attend members. For more information, or to join, please click here.
