Trust praise for hospital volunteers

The Mayor and Mayoress of Oldham, Councillor Richard Knowles and Mrs Valerie Knowles (right), with Rochdale Mayor, Alan Godson (left), and members of the New Bridge School group of volunteers

AN army of local hospital volunteers have been thanked for their help and dedication by civic leaders.

The Mayors of Oldham and Rochdale, Councillor Richard Knowles and Councillor Alan Godson, joined a celebration event at Chadderton Town Hall to thank more than 150 volunteers who put in a total of over 125,000 hours a year.

They help out at the Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust, which includes the Royal Oldham Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary, with jobs including hospital radio, staffing receptions, running shops and cafes, helping on wards and offering spiritual support.

Trust chairman John Jesky said: “Our impressive army of volunteers has grown to 986 with new services provided by volunteers in over 40 different areas, which vary from meeting and greeting patients in radiology, to running cafes to befriending patients on the wards.

“This makes them the largest group of known volunteers within an acute trust across the country. I would like to publicly thank all our volunteers.”

Corrine Widdowson, from New Bridge School, helps to provide a trolley service to the wards at the Royal Oldham Hospital as part of a group of students who all have learning disabilities.

She said: “I really like being a volunteer for the New Bridge trolley run because you get to help patients who can’t get to the hospital shop.”