We are UHB: Volunteers

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust runs Good Hope, Heartlands, Queen Elizabeth and Solihull hospitals, and Solihull community services.

Marion Jones

I have volunteered at Good Hope Hospital for nearly 10 years. I spend one day working on the Special Care Baby Unit, and the other as a meet and greet volunteer. I help patients and visitors coming into the Treatment Centre to get to where they need to be.

I used to work in retail but I decided to take early retirement so I could spend more time with my husband. While I love doing that, I also started to miss interacting with other people. I thought of volunteering for the NHS because my mum and dad, who both lived in Wales, received wonderful care from the NHS. This is my way of giving something back.

It’s very varied, so when I am meeting and greeting patients, I can be helping them to get to their appointment or I can be sitting and waiting with their family members while they go for a scan.

Working on the Special Care Baby Unit brings me a lot of joy. I help keep the cupboards stocked with syringes for feeding so that the nurses can find what they need quickly and easily. Working on the unit is so rewarding, especially when I see them grow stronger, week by week, before they ring the bell at the end of their treatment and return home.

I really enjoy being able to help those who need it, and I always think, 'how would I feel if this was me?' I would want someone to be a friendly face and welcome me with a smile.

Idil Mohamed

I joined the Trust recently and at 18, I think that I am currently one of the youngest volunteers on the team. I volunteer every Sunday in the Emergency Department at Heartlands Hospital.

When I finished studying, I decided to take some time out to think about what I wanted to do before going to university. I am hoping to study pharmacy, and although Birmingham is my home, I am looking forward to going to university elsewhere. I also work part-time as a customer services advisor for John Lewis.

I don’t have a lot of spare time because of working and volunteering, but I have recently taken up baking. I really enjoy it, but I don’t think you will be seeing me on The Great British Bake Off any time soon! I am one of six siblings and they are my harshest baking critics!

I really enjoy volunteering. Heartlands Hospital is near to where I live so it’s easy to get to and I like that I am helping to make a difference. I have become an advocate for volunteering, and I have been encouraging my friends to join as volunteers too.

Lorraine Smiley

I have been volunteering at the hospital for 12 years, but I have been working in the Emergency Department (ED) at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham since January 2020. I volunteer one day a week supporting a community cardiac rehabilitation session for heart patients and I work every Saturday in ED.

I have a condition which means I can’t work a normal job, as I have bouts of ill health. Volunteering is great as it gives me the flexibility to work on a weekly basis, but the teams I work for understand that sometimes I am unable to work.

I love volunteering and am happy that I am playing an important role in caring for patients. Whether I am spending time restocking linen trollies, or holding the hand of a patient with dementia, I know that I am making a difference.

Patients can spend many hours waiting in ED, and offering a cup of tea or a biscuit can make their stay a bit more bearable.

I love volunteering and it’s so rewarding; it gives me a sense of purpose and a reason to get up and out of the house!

Alex Clarke

I started volunteering in September last year and I spend every Saturday morning volunteering in the Emergency Department (ED) at Heartlands Hospital.

I am a second-year student at the University of Birmingham studying physiotherapy. So Monday to Friday I am on my university placement (I am currently working at The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital) and I volunteer on Saturday mornings in ED.

I’m originally from Northampton and I started university a little bit later in life. For three years, I worked as a healthcare assistant and physiotherapy support worker. I also spent a year travelling around Australia and South East Asia.

My ultimate ambition is to study medicine when I complete my physiotherapy course.

A cup of tea or coffee might not seem like much to you or I, but for those patients who have been waiting to be seen in hospital, it can make a big difference to their experience. I get a great deal of satisfaction from being able to do that.