The South Eastern Trust has hosted a series of festive Christmas Coffee Mornings to thank volunteers for their remarkable commitment and contribution throughout the year.
The events, held in Lagan Valley Primary & Community Care Centre, Ards Hospital and the Downe Hospital, provided an opportunity for volunteers to connect, catch up and enjoy some well-deserved appreciation.
Both the Trust Chairman, Jonathan Patton and the Chief Executive, Roisin Coulter, attended the events to thank volunteers for the invaluable support they provide across Trust services.
One of those enjoying the celebrations was Eleanor Smith, who returned to the Trust as a volunteer after a 40 plus year career in Children’s Services. Eleanor now supports the Dementia Telephone Reminder Service, a role she finds deeply meaningful.
Eleanor explained, “I worked in the Trust from when I was 18 years old. When I retired, I decided that I would like to give something back.
“At that point, I decided I had worked with children all my life and I wanted to do something different. So, the opportunity came for a new service that was being set up, the Dementia Reminder Service. I get a list of all the clinics in the Lisburn area and I ring patients to remind them of their appointment.
“But it is not just about reminding them of their appointment, because quite often people have a story and they like to talk about their story and about their family. Each call is different.
“When I worked in Children’s Services, we used to have Volunteers that came into the facilities. I used to see how much they were getting out of Volunteering, so I thought that is something I would like to do when I retired.
“Coming along to the coffee morning has been a lovely opportunity to connect and chat and meet other Volunteers. Some of them I have known over the years, but it is also nice to make new connections too.”
Chairman, Jonathan Patton praised the Volunteers for their ongoing service, saying, “The South Eastern Trust has had a fabulous history with Volunteers supporting the work that we do right across our three sites from Lisburn to the Ulster Hospital and Downpatrick.
“We have benefited and patients have benefited from having our Volunteers with us. They make a massive contribution each day. They are with us on wards, they are meeting and greeting people at front doors and they are delivering items out to patients in their own homes.
“Christmas time gives us a good reason to say thank you to our Volunteers. Getting together for a simple coffee morning, having a conversation, letting them meet up with colleagues they do not normally get to see and find out what else they are doing.
“And for us to say thank you and ensure appreciation for what they have done throughout the year. We get hundreds and hundreds of hours from people throughout the year and it is really important, especially this time of year, we say thank you and very well done.”
Attending the festivities in the Downe Hospital, the Chief Executive of the South Eastern Trust, Roisin Coulter, added, “We are really fortunate to have around 400 people who volunteer on a regular basis. Our Volunteers work right across our hospitals and in the community helping our patients and service users. They meet and greet and take part in our Befriender Service which is so, so important for people who are isolated.
“These Coffee Mornings really recognise the role of our Volunteers. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who volunteers in our Trust. They are very much part of the South Eastern Trust family and it is especially nice at Christmas time to say thank you for what they do.”