Hospital volunteers from Liverpool who support terminally-ill patients have been named the best in the country.
Aintree Hospital’s ‘End of Life Support Team’ volunteers have won the NHS Parliamentary Volunteers of the Year Award 2019 for their services.
Aintree Hospital – a teaching hospital, provides a wide range of specialties and works in partnership with other organisations to provide community-based services.
They have proved to be a cut above the rest in their work in helping patients and making sure that no one spends their time alone in their final hours.
More than 230 MPs across the country submitted their nominations for local NHS organisations.
The award comes after MP Dan Carden nominated the team at Aintree University Hospital, located in his Walton constituency.
Dan Carden MP said: “The support the volunteers provide to dying patients and bereaved families shows an inspiring level of compassion and empathy, which has rightly been recognised with this award win.
“I was so impressed when I heard about the end of life companionship service at Aintree, and every one of them should be incredibly proud.”
The end of life service at Aintree started back in 2012, led by a dedicated team of volunteers who act as a liaison between the patient, family and nursing staff.
These volunteers sit with the patients, hold their hands, listen to their requests and show a great deal of understanding and compassion.
This practice has been so successful that a number of other NHS organisations have been taking note and have visited Aintree in order to learn from their approach.
In a ceremony at Westminster presented by Helen Walker, Chief Executive of the charity Carers UK, the volunteers were the only winners from the North West region.
The ceremony was also attended by a number of MPs and senior figures from the NHS and voluntary sector.
Volunteers at Aintree are also regularly celebrated with Volunteer of the Month presentations, hosted by the Trust’s chair, Neil Goodwin.
Steve Warburton, Chief Executive at Aintree University Hospital, said: “I don’t think there’s a single department in our hospital that hasn’t benefitted from the support of our volunteers in one way or another.
“They are an inspiring group of individuals and I’m delighted that they have been recognised with this award for their invaluable end of life service.”
Dianne Brown, Chief Nurse at Aintree University Hospital, also commented: “The compassion and dedication shown by our volunteers is unrivalled and I am incredibly proud of them.
“The end of life service really enhances the quality of support available to our patients and their families and I am thrilled that it has been recognised nationally.
“The volunteers in this role are carefully chosen and are given in-depth training. We know from families’ feedback just what a difference they have made for hundreds of patients.”