Volunteering at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust

Purpose:

The Physiotherapy Outpatients Department is on the ground floor of the hospital. It is a busy department that looks after people mainly referred by our Hospital consultants with musculoskeletal conditions. We offer individual consultations, gym based classes and hydrotherapy to optimise people’s recovery, often following surgery.

The purpose of the role is to support our Therapy Assistant in running our Hydrotherapy Club where people who have had clinical sessions with a physiotherapist and who have found hydrotherapy helpful, come in and do their exercises in the pool independently as a paying member. Your role will be to meet and greet members, be present while they change before and after sessions as well as while they are in the pool, and perform important admin and logistical tasks.

Duties (what you will be doing):

• Welcome patients when they arrive, providing them with a basket for their clothes as necessary
• Taking payment using a card reader or cash
• Writing their names down on the computer on a simple booking spreadsheet.
• Staying pool-side, chatting with patients during their sessions
• Being on hand to press the emergency alarm button if anything goes wrong (you would not be physically involved in any evacuation from the pool of anyone taken unwell as there will always be a member of staff pool-side)
• You will be fully supported by the therapy team who are always nearby
• Light tidying duties

Boundaries (what you won’t be doing):

• Any clinical care of patients
• Any helping patients to get changed
• Any significant cleaning tasks.

Time commitment:

• We would need a commitment of at least two hours per week to support any of the sessions. The session on Monday runs from 1-2pm, Tuesday it is 2-3pm, and Wednesday it is 1:30-2:30. We would need you to arrive 30 minutes before the session to help prep and stay for 30 minutes after the session to help
• Volunteers must commit to at least one shift per week for a minimum of six months

Requirements of the role:

Age: You must be 16 years or older to volunteer in this role

Accessibility: This roles involves access to the computer and phone in the small office, also access to the emergency button and access to the side of the pool where we would potentially guide other club members in the event of an evacuation. Please ensure you have enough mobility to carry this out.

As a volunteer you will embody the Trust’s values:

• Putting patients first
• Responsive to, and supportive of, patients and staff
• Open, welcoming and honest
• Unfailingly kind, treating everyone with respect, compassion and dignity
• Determined to develop our skills and continuously improve the quality of care

You will also be:

• A confident and flexible communicator
• Able to think on your feet to resolve problems
• Punctual and reliable

This role requires an enhanced criminal record (DBS) check and a pre-placement induction.

Supervisor:

Keith Heywood, Senior Physiotherapist

Personal development:

This role will provide with an insight into a busy department in the hospital. You will gain an insight into many aspects of the therapy department and will develop important transferrable skills such as communication, problem solving and team work.