Our Volunteer Driver and Settle at Home Service has been formally launched - with volunteer drivers now among those able to help transfer independently mobile patients home following a hospital stay.
The volunteers will provide a service in specific circumstances, including where patients are relatively mobile and there is no friend or family member immediately available to assist.
If patients meet the criteria, wards can ask our volunteer team - who have been vetted and cleared to drive our hospital car - to help with transport and, where appropriate, assist patients with getting settled back in at home.
Although the service has only been running since Tuesday, our volunteer drivers have already helped several patients, including one who would have had to wait for transport at the end of the day who was able to go home in the morning. The team helped with moving furniture and making the patient comfortable on arrival at their home too.
It is hoped the service will help people to get home sooner and provide a little support to those who may need minimal assistance when they arrive home, improving patient experience as well as helping with patient flow through the hospital.