By Sue Endersby
I joined the team of volunteers which is part of the PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Ser-vice) at St Peters Hospital when I saw an ad in this magazine. We help to facilitate com-munication between patients and their rela-tives and friends. This is naturally particular-ly important while you can’t visit because of Covid restrictions, but it will also be needed when restrictions are lifted if you can’t visit for other reasons.
Every ward has a mobile phone and patients who don’t have their own phone can ask to use it to phone the ward mobile, however some patients don’t know it exists. Others don’t know we can find their loved ones’ phone numbers, or they don’t have the ability to hold a phone. One of our roles as volun-teers is to take the ward’s mobile phone round to the patients and offer any assistance need-ed.
We can also offer WhatsApp, Facetime and Zoom and we have an iPad as well so you can choose which is best for the patient.
We try to cover about 14 wards between us, some of which have a constant turnover. Not all the patients can be offered the phone each week. Many patients are asleep or being at-tended to so we can’t offer it. Sometimes we phone but we can’t get hold of you.
The purpose of this article is to tell you that you can contact PALS to arrange a time for a volunteer to call you with the patient. The best way is to email us as the phone line is very busy.
It is lovely to see patients’ faces light up. For example, one family was grouped round the kitchen table for a Zoom call. The elderly patient couldn’t hold the iPad but I held it for him and shared with the family his non-verbal reactions, eg his eyes widened or he raised his hand. They were able to have a meaningful conversation with him.
We can also visit a patient you are worried about. One husband was concerned that his wife was depressed and needed a chat. When I visited her, she told me that she was very positive about her situation and said he need-ed a chat more than she did! She still wanted to chat to me about her family and holidays she was looking forward to, and after we had finished, I phoned her husband with him we reassured him.
The nurses and all the ward staff can’t do enough for the patients and are so kind and helpful, but the patients see how busy they are, and they don’t like to ask unless it is im-portant. The patients know that the staff’s priority is their care and getting them home and that’s what they want too.
One gentleman had his own phone but had forgotten his son’s number and was worried about bothering the ward. He then said, “I am so depressed”. I asked if he wanted a chat and he said he would love one as he did not want to worry his son. I was pleased to be able to listen to him, find his son’s number, and pop down to Smith’s for his favourite newspaper.
So if you have a relative or friend in hospital we, the volunteers, are there for you and do contact us by email – asp-tr.patient.advice@nhs.net – and book that call! Do cut out and keep the attached ad for future reference and please spread the word.