Karl Fieldsend, 44, started volunteering when he was off work due to ill health.
Karl, from Sheffield, has volunteered three days a week for the past three years. He is now looking for paid employment and is receiving assistance from the voluntary services team in his search for a paid job.
“I was off work for a period of time with ill health and somebody suggested I should go into the hospital to do voluntary work. I thought it sounded like a good idea, so I applied for the role and started working in the palliative care unit three years ago.
“I find it really rewarding - being there for cancer patients, helping the doctors and nurses and providing support. I do bereavement counselling as well. I did counselling at college, so when I started at the hospital they asked if I’d like to do bereavement telephone calls for relatives. It can be very hard at times but you’re there for the patients to support them.
“I volunteer three days a week and usually just fit in with what the team needs. I get there at 9am and finish around 3 or 4pm, or sometimes later, depending on whether I’m needed.
“There’s a lot of office work, such as filing and doing the admission sheets. I’m also there for the patients, chatting to them and taking them outside in the summer.
“I do a lot of fundraising as well. Last year we managed to raise £200 and bought portable DVD players for the patients. This year we’ve decided to go for some plasma TVs, so that’s my project at the moment. Many of the elderly patients say they can’t see the little TVs that are in the rooms at the moment. After January, all the single rooms will have a 32” plasma TV with a DVD player.
“I’m doing it for the patients. It gives me job satisfaction. And I’m doing things that probably wouldn’t get done otherwise. I’d much rather be doing something than be at home doing nothing.
“I’m looking for full-time work. Healthcare is a field I’ve gone into and I never thought I would take to it but I have. I would like to get a permanent job in the health profession. I’ve gained so much experience from the people I work with: the patients on the ward, the office staff upstairs and the doctors and nurses.
“I think the volunteers add an awful lot. They’re doing jobs that the NHS doesn’t pay for. They add time and they’re there to help the doctors, nurses and of course the patients.”
