Ardgowan Hospice is located in Greenock, West Scotland. Statistically, Greenock is the most deprived area of Scotland – this has an effect on educational attainment, school leaver destinations and employment.
The hospice has always played a key role in supporting the local community. They joined Hospice UK’s Volunteer to Career grants programme as a way to help local young people experience working in a healthcare environment, improving their skills and opening more career opportunities.
How the programme worked
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The programme at Ardgowan Hospice had two cohorts. The first cohort of two people was advertised to existing hospice volunteers, while the second cohort of five people was advertised more widely.
The hospice developed a career pathway for the volunteers:
Volunteers completed a form to register their interest in the programme. They were then invited to an open day with informal interview sessions. Successful applicants were onboarded onto the programme. Some applicants were not successful immediately, but they were given the opportunity to apply for another cohort.
Volunteers completed the same mandatory training as all Ardgowan’s paid staff, via LearnPro (NHS Scotland’s learning and development portal):
Fire safety
Health and safety
Reducing risks of violence and aggression
Equality and human rights
Manual handling theory
Public protection (for adults and children)
Standard infection control precautions
Security and threat
Safe information handling.
Volunteers had access to TURAS - a digital learning resources platform developed by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) which has over 700 courses to explore.
They completed the ‘Informed about palliative and end of life care’ course from the Scottish Ambulance Service which has seven short modules:
Introduction to palliative and end of life care
Recognising the dying patient
Future care planning
Symptom management at end of life
When death occurs
Confirmation of death and managing death in the community
Effective communication skills
Volunteers shadowed Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) in the inpatient unit on a rota system. They carried out tasks such as:
assisting with personal care
making and cleaning beds
cleaning the sluice
stock rotation and putting away stock
assisting patients with mealtime and drinks
assisting patients to the bathroom.
They were mentored by the Clinical Nurse Lead, Amy Brown. This helped them reflect on their experiences and supported their wellbeing throughout the practical placement.
Volunteers were given a reflective journal, to help them record their progress and document their experiences throughout the programme.
As the programme progressed, Amy was able to tailor the programme to each volunteer’s needs and aspirations.
Volunteers attended an in-house Education Day - featuring speakers from Ardgowan Hospice’s community, wellbeing, inpatient unit and human resources teams, plus a speaker from Hospice UK. This enabled them to get an understanding of everything that goes on at the hospice and in the wider sector.
The hospice also ran sessions to build skills for future employment, such as writing a CV and interview skills.
The hospice held a celebration event to mark the completion of each cohort. The Volunteer to Career team offered continued support to the volunteers after the programme ended, if they needed more help with seeking further education or employment.
Outcomes
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Over the course of the programme, the volunteers carried out 450 volunteering hours (approximately 310 practical hours and 140 theory). They had 261 patient interactions and supported 87 Healthcare Assistants.
Of the eight volunteers who started the programme, six completed the full pathway. One person is still completing the programme and another dropped out after the induction.
After the programme, two volunteers were employed by Ardgowan Hospice – one in a clinical administration role and another as a cook.
Another volunteer was offered employment with another healthcare organisation and a fourth has gone on to study nursing at university.
Of the remaining volunteers, one is keen to join the hospice’s bank staff if an opportunity becomes available and one is looking for a place at college.
The evaluation of the programme showed that volunteers’ understanding of palliative and end of life care had increased. They had a clearer idea of the role of a healthcare assistant and had much higher confidence in their ability to work in the inpatient unit.
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“I think the most important thing that I will take away from Volunteer to Career is that I am so much more confident now… I have the ability to communicate effectively with staff and patients. I’m not sure I would have got this experience anywhere else.”
Volunteer to Career participant
Facilitators, challenges and advice
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Key facilitators
The Volunteer to Career programme was led by Afton Fotheringham, Personal Assistant to the Director of Patient and Family Services, Amy Brown, Clinical Nurse Lead and Pauline McIntyre, Director of Patient and Family Services. They were responsible for the day-to-day running of the project. Having three people in the team meant they could support each other and maintain momentum.
They set up a steering group which included the In-patient Unit manager plus representatives from the volunteering, wellbeing, community, human resources, education and communications teams. This ensured that the project was embedded in the wider organisation and enabled the team to draw on a wide range of knowledge and skills.
Through Hospice UK’s Volunteer to Career grants programme, Ardgowan Hospice received funding from the Rank Foundation and support from Hospice UK and Helpforce. Without this, the programme would not have been possible.
Challenges
Ardgowan Hospice already had a well-established volunteer programme, with volunteers working in a range of departments across the Hospice. However there had not previously been any voluntary placements in the clinical team. At the start of the programme, some of the clinical staff had concerns about how it might work. However, after a few weeks the staff were really enjoying working with the volunteers.
Although the programme originally planned to target school leavers, the majority of applicants were from people aged 36-45 who were looking for a career change. In addition, the hospice only received applications from people who identify as female. In the future, the team would like to take steps to reach a more diverse range of applicants.
Tips and advice
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It’s crucial to work with multi-disciplinary teams across the organisation for a programme like this to flourish. Strong communication was key to the programme’s success.
Future development
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Although the grant funding for the programme has finished, Ardgowan Hospice is looking for more ways to support volunteers in its In-patient unit.
