Recovering from knee surgery in a four-bed room in the old Bendigo Hospital’s rehab ward, Cliff Scoble noted his elderly out-of-town roommates didn’t receive any visitors.
Cliff could relate to the feeling of isolation. He was aware of the hole in his life after recently retiring from working 80 hour weeks as an owner/driver of a concrete truck. It was at this time Cliff saw volunteering as an opportunity to get back out in the world and meet new people.
“I saw the need for connecting with others when I was in hospital and thought, I could do that. I applied online and within a week I was doing the introduction course,” he said.
Starting in the old hospital, Cliff was assigned to in-patient rehab because he “can talk”.
A regular shift would see Cliff visiting patients and sitting down for a chat. Of course not everyone is up for it, but others appreciated his company, or taking them for a walk.
Cliff said he could see up to 10 patients a day when he was doing three, three hour shifts a week. Of course that’s not expected, but with people coming from as far away as Mildura who potentially wouldn’t receive visitors all week, Cliff felt one half an hour chat a week was not enough - so he took it upon himself to do more and felt supported to do so.
“I love meeting people from all walks of life and have met short-term and long-term patients from people in their 30s to those in their 100s – it’s been very gratifying,” Cliff said.
“Volunteering has shown me that no matter how bad I feel, I’m not as bad as others. You can walk through the hospital front doors and think “I’m not bad at all”.”
Cliff, who is stepping away from volunteering under doctor’s orders due to his mobility issues, said he will miss staff and the company of others and his advice to those considering volunteering is to just do it:
“People reckon we put a lot in, but we also get a lot out of it. To work with so many lovely people who are so devoted is great. If people volunteer at the hospital they need to understand they will be deeply appreciated by doctors, nurses and all the support staff,” he said.
For more information on volunteering at Bendigo Health call 5454 7639, or visit: bendigohealth.org.au/volunteering