Manicurist
Thursday or Friday morning
Many of our residents love having a manicure and we have now been without a manicurist for over a year.
You do not need to be professional, but you need to take pride in your work and enjoy working with older people making them feel good and well groomed.
Interested?
Please contact Helen Spiro on helenspiro@nightingalehouse.org.uk or 020 8772 2378
News from the Volunteers Office
April 2010
It is early April and there is a hint that spring may be in the air. The spring bulbs are beginning to flower, the tree trunks are green and there are signs that the sap is rising. After a very long, cold, grey and dreary winter even a lover of cold weather must be looking forward to some sunshine and warmth and this will include residents of Nightingale who, in the main, haven’t spent any time in the garden since the autumn.
During the past few months, it will have been difficult to avoid coverage in all the media about care of the elderly whether in their own homes or in a care home such as Nightingale. I read an article by Cosmo Landesman in the Sunday Times shortly before Christmas. He was writing about how he thought this would be his father’s last Christmas. His father suffers from Alzheimer’s, is 90 years old and seems to have lost his love of life. Cosmo has to decide what to give his dying father. He admits that his family is as dysfunctional as any other, but that his father is lucky inasmuch as he does have family around him, family to support and comfort him, “yet he too suffers from a terrible loneliness. It goes with the territory of age. There are times when he spends a large part of the day alone. We don’t mean to turn our backs on the old; we’re just all so busy. We’re short of time and the terrible irony is so are they”.
Only today I asked a resident who looked a little lost if she knew where she was going, “I don’t even know where I am” came the reply. So sad! Cosmo Landesman states “….nobody wants a big therapeutic Daddy-I-love-you Christmas full of hugs and tears. Yet I didn’t want this Christmas to be the usual presents-food-television-row affair. Our parents give us the gift of life; don’t we owe them something more than a pair of warm socks and a nice meal? But comes to the conclusion “When I was in the middle of writing this piece, my dad was taken to hospital — the old heart was playing him up. So I think I will have that hug-a-dad Christmas after all.”
I couldn’t give my lost resident much more than some reassurance but we can all, staff and volunteers, offer a hug (should the resident be open to some physical support)!
Six weeks later and an article in the Daily Mail caught my eye. It was written by Diana Athill, who aged 92, is enjoying every minute of her life. This was a hugely uplifting article. She expresses her surprise at how much she enjoys being old admitting how lucky she is, stating “….there are too many old people who have a wretched time and sometimes the British treat their old worse than they treat animals. Certainly the elderly are too often left to rot and I wish the Government would devote more money to their care.” In old age she has taken up writing, painting and her philosophy of life is to make the most of her reasonable good health, not to worry about death and not to expect to be miserable just because she is old. Diana eventually moves into a Care Home after a painful clearing out of her beloved home, but she is happy, feeling “…. that money and health is one thing, but the luckiest elderly people of all are those who have something in their own heads that they want to do, such as writing or painting.” “Moving through advanced old age is a downward journey. But you have to look for the good things”
As I fast approach a significant birthday, receiving letters from the Department of Work and Pensions, I plan to be as optimistic and positive as Diana. Old age is a new phase of life, it will have its ups and downs and, no doubt, more visits to the doctor but as William Shakespeare says in the Merchant of Venice “With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come” - a sound philosophy to me!
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ARE YOU PATIENT AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE?
Befrienders needed for residents in the Dementia Unit
We have a number of residents in the Dementia Unit who would benefit hugely from having one to one volunteers. It is not always easy to befriend someone suffering from this progressive and sometimes distressing problem so you would need to be patient, committed and interested in learning more about dementia.
In return you could make rewardng relationships by spending time with people who have had full and active lives and who would enjoy the personal attention a skilled volunteer could offer.
We would offer you support and some training.
If this interests you please contact Helen Spiro on 020 8772 2378 or helenspiro@nightingalehouse.org.uk
How you can help
In addition to a dedicated staff, the smooth-running of Nightingale also benefits from a team of hard working volunteers. The work of volunteers brings an added dimension to care at Nightingale from which residents benefit enormously.
How much time do volunteers dedicate to working at Nightingale?
Volunteers can give different amounts of time – from a few hours per week, to half a day, a day, and in some cases a several days per week. We can build a worthwhile volunteering assignment around the time commitment that you can give to Nightingale. The one thing we would ask of all volunteers is a regular commitment.
What do volunteers do?
Some volunteers help in a distinct area of the Home, working closely with Nursing staff to care for residents. Volunteers supplement the work of Nursing staff enabling them to provide an even high standard of professional care.
Some of the tasks that a volunteer might undertake working in a specific unit are as follows:
- taking residents for a trip out, including those in wheelchairs, or sitting with them in the garden
- reading and writing letters
- topical conversation with individuals or visiting lonely and shy residents
- listening to residents reminisce about their lives
- helping in the dining room
- playing board games, such as chess and Scrabble
- running an activity in the Unit and working with a small group
- giving a manicure
- welcoming new residents to the Unit
Other volunteers may be involved in a distinct project in the Home working closely with staff and other volunteers, for example:
- escorting residents to hospital appointments
- visiting residents who are currently in hospital
- helping at a social activity (a film show or concert in the Home)
- distributing books
- assisting in the Physiotherapy Department
- helping in the Synagogue
- arranging flowers
- working in an office … and more
The role, description and personal specification for each volunteer is different.
What qualities do I need to become a volunteer?
- Volunteers need to enjoy being with people, many of whom have diverse and varying backgrounds. They need an ability to put residents first and a professional attitude to their work
- Of course, all volunteers need to have patience, tact, understanding and common sense
Volunteering at Nightingale is an ideal opportunity to make new friends and also to learn or practise new skills. Ideal for those who might like to try something different … ideal for those who want to gain experience in a new field … ideal for those who want to “test-the-water”.
 For further information about volunteering opportunities at Nightingale please contact Helen Spiro on 020 8772 2378 (HelenSpiro@nightingalehouse.org.uk)
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