Hospitals nursing chief hails 'crucial' role of volunteers
Read the latest Shropshire Star column from Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust's nursing chief Paula Gardner
Volunteers play a crucial part in supporting my colleagues and our patients across our Trust and it is great to put the spotlight on one of those roles - the volunteer drivers.
Over a six-month period, 17 volunteers completed more than 660 journey across the county for the Volunteer Discharge Service. During that time, they have supported patients who qualify for non-emergency hospital transport and those unable to get home independently.
Volunteers also deliver medications, equipment and discharge letters, as well as offering a ‘settling in’ service to ensure patients’ basic needs are met at home.
Data for the programme, designed by the Trust and national charity Helpforce, shows that the service could have cost the Trust over £86,000 if hospital transport and taxis were used instead of volunteers.
The volunteers are outstanding and make such a difference for our patients. One of those who uses the service is Niccola Bardi when she receives kidney dialysis three times a week at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Niccola says that she is so grateful for the service because previously she could have been waiting for hours to be picked up at either end of the journey as the demand for ambulances was so high.
We are always looking at ways to reduce waiting times for our patients and the TRIOMIC trial, which is developing a new test to detect colorectal cancer, is playing a huge part in that.
Over 2,600 patients have so far taken part in the £2 million study, which is being run by the Trust’s Research & Innovation Department and Origin Sciences, a medical technology company.
The company invested in three new clinic rooms at the Community Diagnostic Centre last year and nearly all colorectal patients on the Urgent Suspected Cancer (USC) pathway are seen at the clinics, whether they are taking part in the study or not. This means that more patients can now be seen with 150 appointments per week.
Since the trial started in October 2024, the average number of days for a colorectal patient to be seen at their first outpatient appointment on the USC pathway has fallen from 14 to five.
This is great news for our patients who are now being seen quicker which means an earlier diagnosis or reassurance that they do not have cancer.
We are also proud that the Neonatal Unit at Princess Royal Hospital has been awarded a gold Baby Charter Award by the charity Bliss for the care provided to premature and sick babies.
The unit achieved the highest level of the Bliss Baby Charter following an assessment which showed that the Unit has strong procedures, practices and facilities in place to support parents and carers as partners in their baby’s care.
Thank you to every member of the team for their dedication, compassion and hard work.
