I was asked if I would provide a lift for another volunteer who lives in Spalding and this provided me some company on my journey.
I had become quite anxious before the course, similar to the anxiety attacks I would suffer before leaving for work at my previous job. I was more worried about not getting there on time or getting lost, as I have been known to do so in the past. My companion would have been of little use as it was her first visit. I really needn't have worried as we arrived with ten minutes to spare only to find that the course was almost twenty minutes late starting.
There were fifteen of us on the course, each of us working in various parts of the Trust as volunteers, our duties varied. The training was very informal and with plenty of coffee breaks, and a nice cold buffet was provided at lunch time.
The agenda for the day was quite lengthy and covered various topics such as life support, safeguarding and infection control. Not everything would apply to everyone, but it was all very interesting.
I particularly enjoyed the life support session. This involved the traditional use of a dummy to simulate the procedure for resuscitating someone who has stopped breathing. It's surprised me just how tiring it can be to give thirty chest compressions and the weight needed to sufficiently depress the chest.
The safeguarding session was a reminder to us all of how much work goes on in the community to support and protect vulnerable children and adults. We were told of some recent cases where the safeguarding team have been involved and of the immense amount of work and attention paid to each individual. A lot of this work goes unseen and it was comforting to know that services such as this exist in the community.
Another enjoyable session was on infection control. We were shown how germs can remain on our hands despite vigorous washing and the effects that poor hygiene can have in a hospital environment. To demonstrate, we were asked to apply a soap to our hands and ensure we rubbed it in, especially between our fingers. We were then asked to place our hands into a box that shone a special light on our hands to indicate where germs were still present. The results were very interesting and showed that despite our attempts, our hands were still not completely free from germs.
The final session was to do with management of violence and aggression. We were told that on hospital wards, it is not uncommon for patients to lash out or become aggressive toward staff. On dementia wards, this is more common due to the mental state of the patient. Specialist training is now provided to all staff and volunteers as a result and this was a very enjoyable end to the days proceedings. I chose (wisely) not to take part in the physical part of the tuition, opting to sit and watch the demonstrations. It was quite a lot of fun, though we did all learn some simple manoeuvres to repel a would be attacker.
The whole day was very enjoyable. It was nice to meet others who give their time generously to help others. Most if not all have had first hand experience of mental health issues and they, like me had decided to give something back in the form of volunteer work within the Trust.
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