If you think students spend all their spare time avoiding studying, going out with their mates and having a good time then you'd be right. Well our student bloggers do anyway. While they assure us they don't slack on the study, they've got a lot to answer for when it comes to enjoying themselves while volunteering.

All | Emma | Oli | Daniel | Carrie | Olivia | Fiona | Sammy | Ashley | Rochelle | Natalie | Tom | TomG | Harry

Tuesday Jan 25, 2011

PALS

A couple of weeks ago, I started my training with Patient Advice and Liaison services (PALS).

 For those of you who haven't heard of PALS, this is a good indication of my role as a PALS volunteer... to raise awareness. Often in a hospital ward, due to the workload, employees can be unable to give each patient the time they may need to raise issues. This can be as simple as air conditioning, room temperature levels being low to the point that they are causing patients discomfort, or it can be a more serious issue such as lack of appetite due to the food available to them which can cause their health to deteriorate.

 My role as a volunteer is to visit wards and talk to patients introducing the project, which unfortunately doesn't get the advertising it deserves, meaning it's unknown to patients. If the patient has an issue concerning the care or conditions on their ward, I can discuss this with them and if they agree, pass the issue onto a PALS officer who looks to resolve the problem.

One of the main concerns that people express relating to the PALS service is confidentiality. Following my training I appreciate the serious nature of this and admire the commitment of the service, to protect the rights of each patient.

I decided to commit to the project, for two main reasons. Firstly I can see the importance of the project in improving conditions on wards, which are constantly receiving poor press. Secondly, I can really see the value in assisting hospital staff in maximising contact with patients on the ward to simply brighten their day through contact or by helping them with a problem.

More in depth information about the aims and availability of the service can be found at http://www.pals.nhs.uk/

As a student studying Biomedical Sciences, I find it extremely beneficial to volunteer in hospital environments, work experience allows me to see the details of the differing professions in the hospital, but this project will hopefully allow me insight into the issues on wards and how simple services such as PALS can support the professionals working to offer care.

Posted by Natalie ( 12:04 PM )
Link to this post Comments[7]