Volunteers Needed For Help In Brighton And Crawley Hospitals

After a two-year hiatus, Royal Voluntary Service is re-launching its iconic hospital trolley services in Brighton and Crawley.

They're asking more people in Sussex to sign up to volunteer in hospitals, with backing from ambassador Elaine Paige.

On her own trolley shift, accompanied by Royal Voluntary Service President, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, Elaine delighted patients with a bedside rendition of her Cats hit, Memory.

Pandemic restrictions put trolley services on hold in 2020, but now the charity needs to recruit volunteers to continue to support patients, staff and visitors in Sussex. Volunteers are needed not only on the trolley services at both hospitals, but also to support in the Royal Voluntary Service cafés that operate in Royal Sussex County Hospital and Crawley Hospital. At the cafés, as well as serving customers, volunteers ensure that they are always greeted by a friendly face who’s there to listen and chat, in what could be a difficult or uncertain time.

For those on the wards who can't make it to a hospital shop, Royal Voluntary Service trolley volunteers help bring the shop to them. They deliver newspapers, magazines, snacks, and lots of little extras that provide welcome pick-me-ups, bringing a warm smile and a bit of friendly conversation to help people through the long hospital day.

Supporting the charity’s Big Trolley Push volunteer recruitment campaign, Royal Voluntary Service Ambassador Elaine Paige OBE, said:

“Having been behind a hospital trolley myself and seeing how the warm-hearted volunteers can raise patients’ spirits, I can only imagine how much they have been missed on wards over the past two years.

“Now that trolley services are back, I am urging people to see for themselves what a remarkable difference they can make to the wellbeing of someone who’s likely experiencing a difficult time. Donating your time to support others is a wonderful thing. You don’t have to have any special skills and you certainly don’t need to sing to patients as I did! Your time and compassion are enough to brighten someone’s day.”

Chris Gray, Royal Voluntary Service Head of Retail, said:

“We are thrilled to see the return of our fantastic Royal Sussex County Hospital and Crawley Hospital trolley services. Trolley and retail volunteers find the experience incredibly rewarding. They enjoy being social and active in their local community, meeting new people and being part of a friendly team supporting the NHS.

“By offering essential items to patients, they help make their stay in hospital that bit brighter and bring real joy to the wards, but they also help to ease pressure on hardworking clinical staff.

“Trolley service volunteers also offer a friendly face to patients who, unfortunately, don’t receive any visitors, helping them avoid loneliness and aiding them in their recovery.

“We urgently need more trolley and retail volunteers to step forward and help us to provide these vital services to more patients in Sussex, more often.”

Trolley and retail volunteering are just two of the many rewarding roles Royal Voluntary Service is currently recruiting for. To find out more about volunteering to support the NHS in your area, visit: royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/volunteering/

Royal Voluntary Service is one of Britain’s largest volunteering charities with volunteers supporting the NHS and thousands of vulnerable people in the community. The charity delivers the NHS Volunteer Responders programme for NHS England enabled by the GoodSAM app with volunteers responding to over 2.2 million requests for help and supporting with over 300,000 shifts at vaccination sites. The charity also works in local communities running home libraries, companionship support, home from hospital services and patient transport. Its Virtual Village Hall provides live classes and tutorials on Facebook to promote well-being and keep people active.