Interviewer

Good afternoon. Could I start by asking your name and your age?

Dave

I’m Dave and I’m 62.

Christine

I’m Christine and I’m 73.

Interviewer

And could I ask which League of Friends we are talking about today?

Dave

Brentwood Community Hospital.

Interviewer

Excellent, thank you. So, I’ve come in, it’s my first visit here. Could I ask, are you local people? Why are you involved in this hospital?

Dave

We’ve used the hospital as patients for, well, before it was the new hospital, I suppose. What, 30 years we’ve been using it?

Christine

More than that.

Dave

Yes. And you see the League of Friends and…

Christine

We got chatting with them.

Dave

Yes.

Christine

I’m retired, and you’re retired, and there’s something we could do.

Interviewer

Okay.

Christine

Get us out of the house.

Interviewer

Okay. Sounds a positive thing. Have you done any other volunteering in any other environments?

Dave

Yes, we both worked for the Trussell Trust food bank. Yes, did that for about nine years. But there was kind of a change of policy, where it became more of a factory just giving out food, rather than actually connecting with people, and trying to move them onto a better place, you know?

Interviewer

So, people are important to you.

Christine

Oh, yes.

Dave

That’s the reason to do anything for us.

Interviewer

Okay. So out of interest, what did you do for your careers?

Christine

Worked in office, picked mushrooms, drove buses, anything and everything. Picking flowers for farmers, and anything that was going on while the children were young, fixing things.

Interviewer

Yes.

Dave

I was a cinema manager, and I trained as a counsellor. Yes. Oh, and also bus driving.

Interviewer

So, I look at listening to what you did. Interestingly, in my view, a bus driver. Is that in the days when the bus driver took the fares as well?

Dave

Yes.

Interviewer

So, it was all involving the public. It was involving people, and equally, cinema manager involves people. You’ve done careers where you’ve done face-to face with people.

Dave

Yes.

Christine

Yes.

Interviewer

And do you think that helps you in your role here at the hospital?

Dave

Definitely.

Christine

If you used to talk to pensioners, they’d go on about the same, so they didn’t talk to anybody.

Dave

So lonely

Christine

So, they talked to you. Sort of spent a bit, not a lot of time because you don’t have a lot of time, but you make a conversation with them, and they get off, and they seem so much brighter for having that little bit of contact.

Dave

But again, we’re doing exactly the same here, aren’t we? You know? You just try and build up a little rapport with somebody, and, yes, if you can brighten their day up. The kicker for me is when they come back, “Hello Dave, how are you?” You know, that’s, that’s a lovely thing for me.

 

Interviewer

So, people often view League of Friends more as running a shop, or a kiosk in your case, or fundraising, or something like that. It feels like, at Brentwood, you’ve got much more of a philosophy about improving the patient’s day while they’re on the site.

Christine

We try to.

Dave

Yes, definitely.

Interviewer

So when I came out just now, I think you, Christine, were talking to a patient.

Dave

Yes.

Christine

Yes.

Interviewer

Are they chatty? How does that happen?

Christine

She wanted to get a drink. I said, “we can go get some water.” She’s come back, and sat down, and asking what we do, and it just snowballs from there.

Interviewer

Yes, absolutely.

Christine

Telling how she gets on, her family, their struggles, doesn’t it? Just from saying “hello and how are you,” that something, it just grows.

Dave

Because often some people, they’re too busy to stop and listen to people. So if you can just take a few minutes and just be quiet, and let them talk, you know, it’s a lovely thing for them.

Interviewer

And do you find that you talk to people before they’re going into an appointment or after or is it both or how does it work?

Dave

Both, but predominantly on the way out, isn’t it?

Christine

Yes. Some pop in before they go for their appointment early, and then they pop back in on their way out.

Interviewer

So they could be nervous about the news they’re about to get or a bit unsettled by the news they have got?

Dave

Yes. And we’ve definitely had both ends of that. Yes. You know, from a deep sigh to “oh, well”. You can’t change it, but you can be there and listen to them.

Interviewer

Yes. So roughly how long have you been volunteering here? What sort of time period?

Christine

About six months now.

Dave

About six months I suppose. Yes. Something like that.

Interviewer

And do you reckon you’re here now? You’re not going to run away.

Dave

Well, I’m actually looking for more days, to be honest.

Interviewer

Okay.

Dave

I mean, I don’t mean this in a nasty way, but we’ve had a lady who’s been off for a while, so, you know, I’ve been covering for her. So, at the moment I’ve been doing three days a week, which is really lovely. So, you’re getting so, so many connections with the staff.

Christine

Barbara’s been rough. You’ve taken over where she would’ve come in and covered those shifts that would have sort of been empty.

Dave

Yes. Just do what we can.

Interviewer

But I look at what you do, and clearly, you have sort of a usual shift pattern. But I mean, if you’ve got people who are just spending time chatting, you know, you can have more people almost, can’t you? It’s not like, I know there’s not a lot of room in the shop, or kiosk, but actually that reception area in the coffee shop and stuff, it’s a really nice space. Okay. So, if somebody’s listening to this and they’re thinking, “I don’t know whether I should volunteer or not”, what would your comment be to them?

Dave

Yes. I think when you get up in the morning, and you know you’ve got something useful to do, you’re going to make, not a huge difference, but you’re going to make a difference. You know? It just kind of makes life worthwhile. I know it sounds a bit trite, but it’s true.

Christine

Yes, you’ve got some reason to get up and go out instead of just sitting at home.

Dave

And the interactions with people. That’s the…

Christine

That’s the main thing.

Interviewer

Excellent.

Dave

Don’t be wrong. I should be saying it’s all the money we take in the kiosk.

Interviewer

No, but it’s true. It’s not all the money you take in the kiosk that isn’t, some people it motivates, but for most people, we make a difference each life by each life, don’t we? It’s not a huge difference we make life by life. You can go home at teatime and say, I spoke to that lady, she laughed, or whatever it is, you know. You just feel that you’ve done something positive, and I really get that from both of you. Now, is there anything that you want to tell me that you haven’t had the chance to say yet?

Christine

I can’t think of anything. It’s a nice hospital to work at. Receptionists, and everybody, and they all say hello.

Dave

I mean, where we sit, we kind of, sounds terrible. We can kind of eavesdrop on the reception. The reception staff, when people come in, the first thing they do is smile, every time, they smile. “How can I help you?” When people go out, I would think probably a good 80%. “Thank you. It’s a lovely hospital.”

Interviewer

That matters. Well, thank you. Thank you both for your time. You are welcome.

Dave

Thank you.