This Summer over 135 young people aged between 16 and 21 from West London volunteered across our hospitals as part of our Summer Youth Volunteering Programme.

The young people volunteered their time in a variety of patient facing roles across in and outpatient wards. The programme, which runs from July to the end of August saw volunteers provide 3,700 hours of support to 6,500 patients over 1,100 shifts. 

We spoke to some of the volunteers about their experience, and what they learnt.  

Isabelle, Charing Cross Hospital  

Why did you decide to join the summer volunteering programme?  

I want to go into medicine but I rarely ever go to the hospital, so it allowed me to understand what it’s like inside a hospital. I also wanted to help the staff, talk to patients, and see if I could do anything to make their day a bit better.  

What was it like volunteering on your ward?  

I really liked the ward I was on. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen so I made friends with the kitchen staff. Some elderly people on the ward found it difficult to communicate and hear so sometimes having long conversations was hard. So instead of doing that at mealtimes I would get a post-it note or a piece of paper and stick it on the food tray so that they could read it while they were eating. Sometimes I might put a drawing on it, or write ‘enjoy your meal’.  

What did you learn during the volunteering programme?  

At the beginning, I didn’t know what to do. No-one is telling you, you should go speak to a patient now, or this person’s free, so you have to see for yourself. You have to use your brain and ask yourself, should I speak to this person or not? what should I do right now? Or, is it okay for me to ask the nurse a couple of questions?  

Perase, St Mary’s Hospital  

Why did you choose to volunteer at St Mary’s Hospital?  

I chose to apply as I thought volunteering would help me as a person, to build my interpersonal skills and confidence, also I had never had experience in a hospital environment. I believe volunteering was a great experience, as now I feel a lot more confident when communicating and approaching new individuals, also it provided a better understanding of what hospitals are like to work in. 

What was your stand-out memory from volunteering this summer?  

During voluntering, some of my favourite moments were when I had great and long conversations with patients and staff on a variety of different topics such as sports, travel and food. It also felt incredible to make the patients smile and laugh when we were engaged in these conversations and be able to lift their spirits. 

Currently I am preparing for my transition into sixth form, I also plan to continue volunteering in the future. 

Minnie, Hammersmith Hospital 

What ward did you volunteer on?  

I volunteered on the cardiology ward and it was so lovely as I got to speak to so many people. I was able to help one woman I talked to because she was in pain and didn’t know whether she wanted to talk to someone about it. By telling me I was able to convince her it was important and get the doctor for her, which was useful because it meant the hospital team caught something a bit earlier.  

What was your favourite part of the summer programme?  

It was nice to be there and talk through things with people. I’d talk to people who had been in for a long time about what they would do when they were discharged and it was really nice because I got to hear about the things people wanted to get back to. By talking to patients I felt like I gave them a sense of control, and it felt like I was giving them some autonomy back in their lives.  

The patients were also so encouraging and supportive, so I got loads from it too. They all felt happy to give their life advice and impart everything they’d learnt to me and I was very pleased to receive it.  

What are you planning to do next?  

I’m going to do my A-Levels and go into medicine if I can. I want to be a doctor as I like to be intellectually stimulated and I want to do lots of learning during my life. Volunteering has been a very good experience for me because I love thinking through things academically but I also love spending time with people. I’m going to continue volunteering here too.  

If you are interested in volunteering, visit our volunteering page.