The volunteers
The volunteers
Interviewee: Geraldine Reilly Interviewer: Fiona Clampin
Geraldine was a staff nurse and then the Community Liaison Nurse on the HIV ward. She talks about the vital role of the volunteers within the emerging models of care.
“We had the most amazing group of volunteers at Chelsea and Westminster. Jean. I can just see Jean.She was this mother that looked after the volunteers. And her son had died of HIV.
Amazing love and care
And, she and the other volunteers replaced their parents, those people that didn’t have parents, that hadn’t told them. They were there every day. They made the most amazing food. They gave the most amazing care and love.
Supporting the clinical team and the parents
And well we couldn’t have looked after people the way that we did without the support of that voluntary service. They would relieve people’s parents. They would relive being someone’s parents. And I think the volunteers made it a lot easier for the parents to be around.”
