St John Friends of the Emergency Department celebrated five years of volunteering at Waitakere Hospital on Monday 1 February 2010.

When Pam Thompson of Henderson and Terry Caples of Te Atatu South saw an advertisement in the Western Leader community newspaper in late 2004 calling for volunteers for a new St John service at Waitakere they both decided to apply.

“We were both starting our retirement, saw the advert and joined up and have developed a great friendship ourselves having worked together for these five years. We have no intention of stopping just yet! I am so pleased I started,” says Pam. “I absolutely love it; it’s so fulfilling helping people when they are often anxious, upset or frightened. The nurses are so busy we can just give the patients that little extra attention, have a chat, give them a cuppa if they are allowed one, get them a magazine and so on.”

As Terry puts it, “I can do those little things that patients appreciate and I get a great sense of satisfaction.”

Since 1 February 2005 Pam and Terry have worked the same, four-hour shift every Tuesday afternoon except for the odd day of personal sickness or a holiday break.

The Friends of the Emergency Department volunteers give of their time to offer comfort, information and support to patients and their relatives while they are waiting for or having treatment in emergency. A common affirmation from staff over the years has been 'we don’t know we’d do without you'.

The original team of 28 has grown to 43. They volunteer in pairs, and the team provides cover 365 days a year.  Each volunteer generously gives nearly 200 hour service every year, which means the team of volunteers collectively gives around 8,500 hours a year.

“New members are always welcome” says Northern Region Friends of the Emergency Department Manager Michael Bancroft, “We offer all suitable applicants appropriate training and a simple uniform.”