Volunteering in A&E 'there's nothing like it'

It is a busy day at St James's Emergency Department in Leeds as patients wait to be seen and visitors frantically scan signs to guide them to their loved ones.

It can be an overwhelming experience, but a team of volunteers are on hand to help settle nerves with warming smiles and cups of tea.

"This could potentially be the worst day of somebody's life," says Louise Fisher, volunteer recruitment and training manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

"Something terrible could have happened, or they are feeling really, really poorly.

"For them, the anxiety and the fear is already there before they walk into the department, so being met by a friendly face makes a massive difference."

She says the trust is looking to triple its volunteer force, appealing for more people to support the emergency department.

Upwards of 30 recruits are needed to reassure people in the waiting room, by taking the time to sit and chat or acting as wayfinders through wards.

One of those who has chosen to give up their time is Nigel Thirkill, who says: "There is not a job more rewarding."

He has been volunteering in the Emergency Department for the last 12 months.

"You come to the end of a shift and you can really feel like you have made a difference."

He recalls on one occasion helping an elderly lady during her first ever trip to the department.

"She was absolutely petrified, we just took her through the system, booked her in, sat her down in the waiting room, got her a cup of tea and it made the world of difference to her, took that edge off.

"She was frightened because of what was happening to her and because she had never been before and she did not know how to work the system.

"That is what we are here for."

Monthly figures from the NHS show A&E attendances across the country are on the rise.

In November there were 2.35m visitors - 30,000 more than in November 2024.

Vee O'Brien has been volunteering with the trust for 11 years, and says a good cup of tea is "her thing" to calm visitors,

"I feel I am not doing anything, but to see people and how appreciative they are of that nice cup of tea or coffee - it is my thing."

Before volunteering, Vee used to work for the NHS.

As she returns from guiding an elderly couple to the waiting room, she says the pressures facing the health service today are far greater now.

"If I can do my little bit, alleviate the pressures and make a difference it is very rewarding," she add.

Earlier this month, the NHS warned that Emergency Departments across the country were "under siege", with A&E's "busier than ever heading into winter than last year".

It also warned it was facing an unprecedented flu wave this winter.

"With the winter pressure we know that our ED departments are very, very busy, not just now but will continue to be so over the next few months," volunteer coordinator Ms Fisher says

"We just want to make sure that patients are reassured and they have the support of as many people as possible.

"We have got obviously people waiting longer than they initially expect.

"Just being having a cup of tea and somebody explaining that, can make a whole host of difference to people that are already anxious or maybe quite worried."

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