Volunteer Services (VolServ)

What is VolServ?

VolServ is an SOS Malta Volunteering Service in partnership with the Ministry for Health. VolServ aims at developing and organising voluntary health services to support patients and relatives in the main general hospital. The project was set-up in April 2007 when a service agreement was signed by the two parties.

The main aims of VolServ Voluntary Services in the hospital are:

• Enhancing the Quality of the overall patient experience. Hence providing a more personal response to patients.
• Enhancing the hospital experience of the relatives of patients.
• Adding value to the work of the hospital staff, through the creation of roles of value for the volunteers.
• Offering rewarding opportunities for the volunteers, enhancing their social skills and sense of satisfaction

SOS Malta / Volserv liaise with the hospital authorities who coordinate the logistics of the processes in the hospital with regard to the (non-nursing and non-medical) services carried out by the volunteers. Training and support is provided by SOS Malta to all volunteers prior to and during their voluntary service.

Services

Services rendered by Volserv Volunteers at:

• Booking office
• Burns unit
• Clerical and customer care offices
• Various outpatients clinics
• Medical admissions unit
• Medical imaging
• Renal unit
• Various wards
• Trolley service
• Others

Lately, Volserv volunteers have been assigned on the outreach to the community through discharge liaison nurses and also at the Oncology Centre.

Objectives

The main objectives of the service agreement, between SOS Malta and Ministry of Health (MFH) are:

• Training, supervision and retention of volunteers to provide non-nursing, non-medical and non-clinical services
• Coordinate, organize, facilitate advice & support voluntary service activities in public health entities and long-term care settings, in order to assist and support patients, relatives and other service users
• To ensure compliancy with existing Code of Conduct, Operational procedures and Guidelines for volunteers are being adhered to
• To ensure through ongoing evaluation and review that the service activities being provided are appropriate to the needs of patients, relatives as well as the service users and also complimentary to the work processes adopted by the staff employed within MDH