Urgent call for Cheshire hospital trolley volunteers

After a two-year hiatus, Royal Voluntary Service is re-launching its iconic hospital trolley services in Warrington and Macclesfield.

The leading volunteering charity is issuing a call for more people in Cheshire to sign up to get behind the wheels, with backing from ambassador Elaine Paige. On her own trolley shift, accompanied by Royal Voluntary Service President, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, Elaine delighted patients with a bedside rendition of her Cats hit, Memory.

The welcome rumble of a Royal Voluntary Service trolley will once again be heard in the hallways of Warrington Hospital and Macclesfield District General Hospital, after pandemic restrictions put the services on pause in 2020.

However, the charity needs to recruit several new retail volunteers at speed in order to continue to support patients, staff and visitors in Warrington and Macclesfield District General Hospitals.

For those on the wards who can't make it to the hospital shop, Royal Voluntary Service trolley volunteers help bring the shop to them. They deliver newspapers, magazines, snacks, and lots of little extras that provide welcome pick-me-ups, bringing a warm smile and a bit of friendly conversation to help people through the long hospital day.

Supporting the charity’s Big Trolley Push volunteer recruitment campaign, Royal Voluntary Service Ambassador Elaine Paige OBE, said: “Having been behind a hospital trolley myself and seeing how the warm-hearted volunteers can raise patients’ spirits, I can only imagine how much they have been missed on wards over the past two years.

“Now that trolley services are back, I am urging people to see for themselves what a remarkable difference they can make to the wellbeing of someone who’s likely experiencing a difficult time. Donating your time to support others is a wonderful thing. You don’t have to have any special skills and you certainly don’t need to sing to patients as I did! Your time and compassion are enough to brighten someone’s day.”

Chris Gray, Royal Voluntary Service Head of Retail, said: “We are thrilled to see the return of our fantastic trolley services in Cheshire. Trolley volunteers find the experience incredibly rewarding. They enjoy being social and active in their local community, meeting new people and being part of a friendly team supporting the NHS.

“By offering essential items to patients, they help make their stay in hospital that bit brighter and bring real joy to the wards, but they also help to ease pressure on hardworking clinical staff.

“Trolley service volunteers also offer a friendly face to patients who, unfortunately, don’t receive any visitors, helping them avoid loneliness and aiding them in their recovery.

“We urgently need more trolley volunteers to step forward and help us to provide this vital service to more patients in Cheshire, more often.”

Trolley volunteering is just one of the many rewarding roles Royal Voluntary Service is currently recruiting for. To find out more about volunteering to support the NHS in your area, visit: 

royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/volunteering/

Royal Voluntary Service is one of Britain’s largest volunteering charities with volunteers supporting the NHS and thousands of vulnerable people in the community. The charity delivers the NHS Volunteer Responders programme for NHS England enabled by the GoodSAM app with volunteers responding to over 2.2 million requests for help and supporting with over 300,000 shifts at vaccination sites. The charity also works in local communities running home libraries, companionship support, home from hospital services and patient transport. Its Virtual Village Hall provides live classes and tutorials on Facebook to promote well-being and keep people active.