How Walsall hospital volunteer's own cancer story calms patients
A cancer survivor who uses her position as a hospital volunteer to show patients the illness can be beaten is among the hundreds of helpers forming the "heartbeat" of the NHS in the West Midlands.NHS bosses have praised the 450 or so people who give up their time to support sites in Walsall and Wolverhampton each year, describing volunteers such as Pat Rayner, 77, as "hugely valued".Mrs Rayner, a breast cancer support volunteer, said: "I think it's nice to give back once you've come through something - it helps other people as well to see that you're still around."Hospitals say they are keen to match new volunteers with suitable roles.
Mrs Rayner, who lives in Willenhall in Walsall borough, supports women with breast cancer 40 years after she recovered from the same disease.She gives her personal phone number to patients she meets during monthly Walsall Manor Hospital visits, and at a charitable support group run by Walsall Breast Cancer Support Group. She often gets calls."They know they can phone you up at any time if they're feeling down," she said."They might say they're worried about hair and chemotherapy, and different drugs, and if they come to the support group they're bound to find someone going through the same thing."
The support charity, which meets on the first Wednesday of each month at Bloxwich Golf Club, has also raised funds for Walsall Manor's cancer ward.Mrs Rayner said she had been inspired to help others after she was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 37 and at a support group met a woman who had undergone a mastectomy.At the time, nobody spoke about living with cancer, she said. "It was very scary at the time, which is where a support group comes in... we've helped no end of members."She acknowledged she was "probably one of the longest-serving volunteers" at the hospital, adding she would keep going for as long as she could."I think once you start doing volunteering you carry on for quite a bit... It is very rewarding," she said.
About 200 people do unpaid work each year at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust (WHT), with a further 250 helping out at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT).Adam Jackson, 25, who now has a paid job after working for free for 10 months at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, said volunteering had given him "a real confidence boost".Mr Jackson, from the city, initially volunteered on the New Cross staff wellbeing hub and also the discharge lounge, serving refreshments and chatting to patients waiting to go home.He has worked his way up to becoming a paid theatre support assistant at the hospital and said he enjoyed keeping patients calm before operations."Volunteering with RWT gave me a real confidence boost when it comes to meeting and working with new people, as well as experience for a hands-on style working environment," he said.
Andrew Rice, head of Patient Voice at WHT and RWT, said hospitals would work with volunteers to find roles aligning with "not just what we need but also what they're looking for".He said it was important to give patients time to talk to people who were not medics."The volunteers are the heartbeat of the [trusts], their contribution to different services never goes unnoticed, and I can't thank them all enough for their hard work and commitment," he added.
Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Starmer goes all in on NHS with PM set to hand health service £30bn spending boost at expense of other public services
Sir Keir Starmer will pump money into the NHS at the expense of other public services. The government is putting all its eggs in one basket as it lines up the Department for Health for a £30billion cash boost at next week's spending review. However, health chiefs have warned the prime minister's promise to 'turbocharge delivery' could lead to difficult compromises elsewhere in services from the police to councils. It comes after the party's unexpected victory in the Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse by-election - though as the threat of Nigel Farage 's Reform UK still looms large. The Department for Health will be handed an increase of around £200billion to its budget by 2028 - a £17billion rise in real terms. Its day-to-day budget is set to increase by 2.8 per cent in real terms annually over the three-year spending review period. Sir Keir has also pledged to have 92 per cent of NHS patients treated within 18 weeks by the next election, a target that has remained unmet for a decade. Currently, under 60 per cent are seen within this time with waiting lists rising to 7.4million last month. There are even fears NHS bosses may not hit an interim goal of 65 per cent next year. Chancellor Rachel Reeves' prioritisation of health has forced cuts in other departments and prompted protestations from other cabinet members like Yvette Cooper, the home secretary and Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary. Both have warned Ms Reeves the cuts will put some of the government's crime and housing targets at risk amid 'robust negotiations'. But the chancellor has maintained 'not every department will get everything they want'. Overall, the health budget, which stood at £178billion as Labour took office, will exceed £230billion by the next election. The increase means health is set to account for 41 per cent of all day-to-day departmental spending - up from 39 per cent. Ben Zaranko, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said Ms Reeves's cash boost was 'a serious, meaningful increase in health funding'. But Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, warned the funding increase 'is not going to enable us to achieve recovery and reform' without big changes to the way the health service treats patients. He said the government's plan to withhold the budget for infrastructure simultaneously would also make 'combining recovery and reform' impossible.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Health Secretary to unveil 'death of the doctor's letter' in digital first switch to help slash NHS postage bills
Ministers will today announce the death of the doctor's letter in a bid to slash NHS postage bills. Health Secretary Wes Streeting will unveil plans to switch to a 'digital first' system, with almost all patient communications made via the NHS app. The move, agreed as part of next week's spending review, will mean most patients will no longer receive letters about appointments, check-ups and screening dates. People unable to use the app will be able to continue receiving a postal service, but only as a 'last resort'. The Department of Health said the move would lead to the NHS sending out 50 million fewer letters a year, saving £200 million on stamps and envelopes. However, critics warned it could disadvantage millions of older people who struggle with the latest technology. Dennis Reed, director of the Silver Voices campaign group, said the move would accelerate the trend towards digital communications that risks turning some older people into 'second class citizens' and could result in vulnerable patients missing appointments. Last night Mr Streeting insisted that 'modernising' communications would 'put power in the hands of patients'. 'People are living increasingly busy lives,' he said, 'and want to access information about their health at the touch of a button, rather than wait weeks for letters that often arrive too late. 'The NHS still spends hundreds of millions of pounds on stamps, printing, and envelopes. By modernising the health service, we can free up huge amounts of funding to reinvest in the frontline.' Health sources said Royal Mail had become so unreliable in parts of the country that some letters didn't arrive until after appointment dates or else people didn't open their post in time. Mr Reed told the Mail: 'Many older people do not have smartphones and many of those that do only use them for making calls. There are still a lot of people who do not know how to use apps or who physically cannot navigate them on a tiny screen. 'If you try to force them to use an app then people will miss messages and vital appointments.' Caroline Abrahams, director of Age Concern, said technology brought 'many potential benefits', but added: 'This is a big risk because millions [of older people] do not use computers at all, or only do so for limited purposes. 'If the NHS app is to become the default, then this major change must be accompanied by many more opportunities to help people of all ages to go online if they wish to do so.'
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Millions to receive NHS screening invitations and appointment reminders on their phones
Appointment reminders, invitations to health screenings and test results will now be received by patients on their phones. The government says moving to a more digital-focused NHS will mean 50 million fewer letters need to be sent out by the health service, saving an estimated £200m over the next three years. Instead, under the new plans, millions of people will be notified about appointments and other important notices via the NHS app on their phone or digital device. The app is set to become the go-to method for the NHS to communicate with people, the Department of Health and Social Care said. The changes will be backed by more than £50m investment. It will see a predicted 270 million messages sent through the app this year, an increase of around 70 million on the last financial year, the government announced. Wes Streeting has said this is all about modernising, as the NHS "feels so 20th century". The health secretary said: "The fact that people still get letters through the front door, sometimes multiple letters about the same appointment... The NHS has been stuck in the mud when it comes to the everyday technology we use to organise our lives. And that's why what we're doing with the NHS app is really exciting." Mr Streeting said the app will make using the NHS more convenient, and give patients more control, while saving money. He said these funds can then be invested back into the health service, to bolster things such as frontline care. Using the NHS app should be 'as joyful as Netflix' The modernisation of the NHS will also lead to fewer missed appointments, and therefore save money that way too, it is hoped. In 2023/24, there were around eight million missed appointments in elective care and almost one in three people missed a screening appointment. Currently, around 20 million people have opted in to receive messages from the NHS app. 4:01 Pushed on how the government will ensure that nobody is left behind, Mr Streeting said: "If someone like me is booking my appointment through the app because that's what I prefer to do, [then] that's freeing up a phone line for someone who wants to get through and talk to a person." He added that greater use of the app will give people more choice in "how you want to organise your care". The cabinet minister also made a bold comparison, saying he wishes that the NHS app is as enjoyable as using streaming giant Netflix. He said: "The NHS app actually has more subscribers than Netflix. It would be a really wonderful thing if using the NHS app felt - if not as joyful - almost as joyful as using Netflix." Other features in the pipeline - though not yet available - include being able to add appointments to phone calendars and request help from local GPs on the app. Faster log in methods, such as using Face ID, are also planned.
