Befriending initiative by local hospice

Sue Ryder charity seeks volunteers

Sue Ryder is calling on local residents to volunteer at Newbury’s Charles Clore Unit, which provides care for people with end-of-life conditions.

The hospice, together with Reading’s Duchess of Kent Hospice and Wokingham’s Day Hospice, is on the lookout for volunteers to take part in a national study measuring the impact of befriending on reducing loneliness and social isolation at the end of life.

Befriending volunteers will regularly visit people in their homes, directed by patients’ needs and may include continuing a hobby, giving them a hand with the shopping or other day-to-day activities.

Volunteers will need to be caring and practical with good communication skills and will be DBS checked according to Sue Ryder.

Hospice director Stewart Marks said: “At Sue Ryder, we have first-hand experience of the benefits of volunteering and the difference that services like befriending can make to people’s lives.

“We cannot change the outcome, but we can improve the journey and by demonstrating the impact these services have, with strong evidence to back it up, we are hopeful that this will allow for even more services to be delivered in the future.

“But none of this can be done without volunteers who are prepared to selflessly give up their time. We are hopeful that we will get a good response and that local people get in touch to take part.”

For more details on becoming a volunteer at Charles Clore Unit, call Alison Clements on (0118) 955 0443 or email alison.clements@sueryder.org or natasha.saunders@sueryder.org for the Reading and Wokingham hospices.