St John Ambulance volunteers, who stepped in to help Addenbrooke’s during the pandemic, have notched up the second highest number of hours donated in the country.
Figures just released by the charity show volunteers have since March 2020 donated 9,508 hours to help the Emergency Department, only beaten by Brighton and Sussex University Hospital volunteers who notched up 14,378 hours.
A newly compiled chart shows that St John supported 39 trusts, graphically illustrating the important part volunteers have played during the pandemic.
CUH operations manager David Monk said:
We know our volunteers are fantastic but had no idea that we are near top of the table in terms of hours donated. We cannot thank them enough for this incredible support.
David Monk
St John Ambulance district manager, Lee Taylor, added:
I think the hours donated to Addenbrooke’s demonstrate the region-wide affection there is for the hospital and the mutual understanding that in a pandemic everyone has to pull together
Lee Taylor
The news comes less than a fortnight after volunteers announced they have signed up to support the Addenbrooke’s for another year
Among the volunteers is Mel Godefroy who, despite being a busy nursing assistant at West Suffolk Hospital and travelling from Ipswich, has single-handedly notched up more than 800 volunteering hours at Addenbrooke’s.
Anyone interested in joining St John Ambulance can find more details at www.sja.org.uk (opens in a new tab)