Volunteers

Western Adelaide Palliative Care needs volunteers now!

If you are interested in volunteering and can spare two hours a week they would love to hear from you. An information session will be held on Wednesday 21 July from 2-3pm at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Palliative Care Unit, 28 Woodville Road, Woodville South. To attend, register your interest with Mary-Ann Holt on 8222 6825 before 15th July 2010.

How to become a volunteer

What is the palliative care volunteer's role?
The volunteer's role is to strengthen the ability of the ill person, and his/her family and friends to live as fully and as richly as possible.

Palliative care volunteers provide:

comfort and support to people and families living with a life-limiting illness in the home, hospital, hospices, residential aged care facilities and palliative care units
contact with families through the time of bereavement following death

Volunteers may be involved in:

listening
providing emotional support
assisting at mealtimes
helping with transport/outings
respite care
maintaining contact with the family
bereavement counselling

Who is a palliative care volunteer?

A palliative care volunteer is a person who:-

is 18 years or older
receives training and ongoing support
enjoys meeting people
is comfortable being with someone who has a life-limiting illness
is an important and integral part of the palliative care team
want to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of those who visit
non-judgemental

Recruitment, Selection & Responsibilities

Volunteers are selected and trained by individual palliative care organisations.
Orientation includes such topics as listening skills, communication, loss & grief, self-care, understanding of life-limiting illnesses, the dying process, bereavement.
Volunteers are unpaid and give their time to provide a caring service for other people.
Despite their volunteer status, they are members of the Palliative Care Team, bound by the same professional standards of ethics and privacy.

Where can I volunteer?

Volunteers work where palliative care is provided. Palliative care is provided, if possible, where the ill person wants to be. Therefore, you may like to volunteer at a hospital, hospice, residential aged care facility or in the home. Volunteers are supported by the Volunteer Manager/Coordinator and are generally covered by insurance.

How to become a volunteer?

If you would like to find more about becoming a palliative care volunteer please contact the Palliative Care Council.

Volunteer Managers Forum

2010 Meeting Dates:

3rd September
28th November

Meetings are usually held at Calvary Hospital Adelaide, 89 Strangways Terrace, North Adelaide, in Connery Room 2.
Lunch provided.

Time:
10.00am - 12.00pm : Meeting
12.00pm - 12.30pm : Lunch
12.30pm - 2.00pm : Education session.

Conferences & Seminars

2010 Palliative Care Volunteers Conference
"Searching for Balance"
20-21st May 2010
Stamford Plaza, Nth Terrace, Adelaide

Feedback from Conference participants has been extremely positive.
Conference Notes & Topics: