VOLUNTEERS in the Engage programme at the hospital use their time to play board games and chat with some of the older patients.

“We find when older patients get admitted to hospital there is often a decline in their cognition due to a lack of stimulation,” Antoinette Broomfield, the Engage coordinator, says. “We run a volunteer programme which aims to increase social and cognitive stimulation for hospitalised older patients.

“These are patients who sometimes have additional complex needs such as dementia and they find transition quite difficult.

“We find they tend to lose their sense of identity which slips away as they put on a hospital gown and they become a number.

“Low in mood and feeling de-skilled, we use reminiscence therapy to re-establish their sense of identity and their sense of worth.

“There are also different techniques for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy interventions for low mood and anxiety while volunteers use various engagement activities to suit different individual needs such as puzzles, and games and iPads which have apps aimed to stimulate the brain and slow the progression of dementia.”

Another aspect of the programme involves social engagement.

“We generally find being in hospital is really quite lonely for some patients,” Antoinette says. “So a big part of what our volunteers do is they increase their social engagement by sitting with patients and giving them their time just listening and talking, keeping them company.

"We get an overwhelming positive response - I started as a volunteer and was a bit worried on who would want to  talk to me, a student, but every single time I was amazed and surprised at the number of people seeking that level of engagement.

“People sit there in their own minds, almost shut in, but all it takes is a ‘hello’ and a ‘how are you’ to bring them out.”

Antoinette, who is nine months away from completing a degree in clinical psychology, began working as a volunteer to gain some work experience. She had been there for 18 months when the opportunity came up to become the Engage coordinator.

The team now involves 60 volunteers and is always looking to recruit more.

* The Engage Programme was recently honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.