At St Andrew’s, volunteers make a huge difference to the well-being of patients in helping transform the lives of people affected by mental health issues. To thank the volunteers for the extraordinary efforts they have made over the last 12 months, the Voluntary Services Team at St Andrew’s created a special rainbow to say thank you.

Voluntary Services Manager, Dawn Wright shares a little information on what the amazing team of volunteers have been up to throughout the pandemic…

“During the first 12 months of the pandemic, over 11,500 voluntary hours were donated by our volunteers.  Even though restrictions meant that volunteers were not able to physically attend the hospital, they stepped up in many imaginative ways to support each other and to ensure our patients didn’t miss out.  This included remotely supporting their regular patients via letters, Zoom and phone calls.  They also sent in stories, letters, cards, activities, quizzes and how-to guides for various crafts which the Voluntary Services team were able to copy and package together as weekly Patient Activity packs which were sent to every single ward, each week.   A Volunteer’s peer support group was set up, and members shared contact details with each other so that they could stay in touch (separate to St Andrew’s) and support one another through the pandemic by providing a listening ear, some light hearted distraction or just sharing experiences.   We also set up a much needed pen-pal service for patients who were struggling with the pandemic, which our volunteers were more than happy to help with.  At one point, they were writing to 11 patients in total.”