This year’s Volunteers’ Week is from 1 to 7 June, and is a time to say thanks and recognise the fantastic contribution made by volunteers across Glasgow City Health and Social Care (HSCP) services.

Volunteers have provided a wide range of informal activity across our HSCP Mental Health Services for our patients, ranging from Bollywood and break dancing to creative writing, to beauty therapy and art and to ward visiting.  When the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit in March 2020, our HSCP volunteers were no longer able to carry out their roles on-site and all services had to find new ways of working using new technology. 

In May 2021, technology to support remote therapeutic activity was installed at Leverndale Hospital’s Ward 4B, and Jenn Wyld, Patient Activity Nurse and Elaine Melville, Volunteering Services Manager for the HSCP’s North East and South West Inpatient Mental Health Services saw a golden opportunity to pilot virtual volunteer-led activity.

Elaine said: “Garry Steven, Virtual Art Volunteer from Mind and Draw, a community art project that streams free online classes to participants as far afield as New York City, had already donated many hours of volunteering to Leverndale, helping with our Design in the Dale and Meander for Mental Health projects, as well as in-person art sessions in Ward 4B. Garry was already providing online art sessions to the general public, so he agreed to trial virtual volunteering and he has been leading step-by-step scenery drawing sessions since July 2020. Garry also provides peer support to other volunteers around using MSTeams, by welcoming them to ‘sit in’ on his sessions. Jenn and I then attend practice sessions as participants, so that volunteers feel confident leading activities over MSTeams, before undertaking a patient-facing role. During ‘live’ volunteering sessions, Jenn provides in-person support, and sets out her activity room to accommodate a small, socially distanced, group.”

Feedback from patients has been positive, suggesting benefits for all involved.  For Garry, planning and delivering classes helps to maintain a sense of structure during lockdown, as well as giving the ‘feel good factor’ that comes with volunteering.

Garry said: “I really enjoy providing weekly art sessions as a volunteer with Leverndale Hospital. Every week for an hour I get to show and create artwork with the group. The sessions are very relaxed and I feel the attendees taking part get so much out of them. To create artwork and landscapes is such a fulfilling and rewarding experience for me and the group.”      

Jenn is equally enthusiastic about the benefits of virtual volunteering and enjoys being able to provide a wider variety of activity, whilst learning new skills from volunteers.

Jenn said: “At first the patients found it very strange but with Garry’s amazing skills he has helped a lot of patients become more comfortable with online sessions, which has impacted positively on their recovery journey. It has also increased their confidence in using platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Now, nearly a year on, we have more and more NHS volunteers keen to deliver online sessions to the patients in the hospital and have recently started a Bullet Journaling session, a beauty themed session, as well a dance session via Physiotherapy, and are in the process of developing animation sessions. It has been nice to have the opportunity to work on this project and adapt working practices to help facilitate these wonderful sessions. These newly developed skills in video conferencing also mean that people are better equipped, on discharge, to engage with Attend Anywhere appointments, as well as online learning, and one session attendee has gone on to set up a channel delivering art classes of their own.”

Comments from Patient, Ward 4B, Leverndale Hospital have included:

“I didn’t think I would like a session like this, I don’t like the way I look on the screen but I actually really enjoyed it and it felt like Garry was in the room.”                            

“I suffer from social anxiety in group settings but with this I didn’t have to worry.”     
              
“I want to continue sessions like this when I get home.”                               

In future, Mental Health In-Patient Volunteering Services (NE/SW) hopes to be able to offer virtual sessions across all North East and South West Inpatient Mental Health Services, although this is very much dependant on appropriate technology for wards and volunteers alike. The service is also working to develop roles and systems that will enable us to be more inclusive of those volunteers who don’t have the technological skills and / or hardware to resume volunteering virtually for the time being.   

Information on volunteering from Elaine.Melville@ggc.scot.nhs.uk