Summary of the discussion held on 2nd August 2023

Volunteer roles designed to support patients on waiting lists are becoming very popular with Trusts and there is now more evidence available to show how valuable these roles are. One of our guests said that this service had reduced the number of complaints received by their PALs team.

Another guest from a GP surgery talked about how, in conjunction with a move to new bigger premises, they would like to bring in a volunteer coordinator and build in Waiting Well calls for patients around primary care as they have whole cohorts of patients waiting in pain for secondary referrals.

They would also like to create peer support groups to work with cohorts of patients who are waiting in similar situations and possibly feeling like they are the only person living with pain.

“There is not always a surgical solution for the pain. For a lot of people, it is about psychological well-being and learning to live with whatever their health condition is.”

Another great project that is looking for resources to continue involves matching patients to another local person who will arrange an outing or activity with them once a week.

What does ‘waiting well and pre-operation' volunteer support look like?

“Sometimes it is just that ability to speak to somebody absolutely impartial, not a member of your family, and say life is pretty rubbish.”

Ringing patients on waiting lists and checking in with them to make sure the patient knows that they haven’t been forgotten.

Finding out if there are any additional services that can be of help while the patient is waiting. Good connections are being built with community groups so that they can signpost patients requiring additional help while they are waiting.

This is a role that can be done from home although it is advisable to have the volunteer work from the office until they have completed their training and feel confident enough to work alone.

Patient data

The volunteers only require access to limited patient data. For example, name, phone number and the type of surgery they are waiting for.

Volunteers do not need to have any clinical knowledge or information about when the patient's surgery might be.

Devices - Some organisations, with the assistance of their IT team, can allow volunteers to use their own devices whereas others provide tablets.

Give the patient the option to opt in or out of the service by text. For example: text the patient before the call and ask them to reply NO if they do not consent to the call.

Tips

Try to keep the same volunteer for the calls to a particular patient. Holidays and exams can affect this, so a call log can be useful.
Have a system so that the patient can opt into these calls as soon as they are referred into the pathway.
Although most people receiving calls recognise that they are speaking to a volunteer who does not have the power to change their situation, the role can be quite challenging at times. A patient who has been waiting for a long time and is in extreme pain may try to vent their frustration out on the volunteer and become aggressive and rude.
1. Make sure that the volunteer is confident in speaking to patients and not easily intimidated
2. Use a script that includes making it clear to the patient that this call isn’t to give them an appointment date for their treatment.
3. Give them as much regular support and training as is possible. Build a specific training package and include handling difficult phone calls and tips on where and when to signpost.
If you have an experienced volunteer, ask them if they would be interested in training new volunteers.
Look at your local voluntary sector and community support and see what pathways are available to the patients for longer term support.
“Within quite a few care pathways there are a number of peer-to-peer lived experience groups that come together and there are roles within Waiting Well that could move into a group dynamic. There are roles where volunteers are phoning people to support them achieve a goal before surgery. This might be weight loss, stabilizing diabetes or stopping smoking, but there's no reason why this model cannot be flipped around and be more of a group activity.”
Group activities may initially require facilitation resources however, in some cases, it may be possible for the volunteers to eventually run the activities themselves.
Work with system partners like Age UK.

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