Sister Act
Published on
04 Apr 2018
Published by
Ageless Online
Through their selfless act of volunteerism, they are not only making a difference to the community they serve, but also strengthening their bonds of sisterhood.
Over the past four years, sisters Jean, 65, and Wendy, 68, have become a familiar sight at the Marine Parade SingHealth Polyclinic (SHP). They are part of a group of volunteers who help to guide and assist elderly patients, as well as caregivers at the polyclinic.
It all began when Jean bumped into an ex-neighbour working at SHP-Marine Parade, who told her about a programme called Helping Hands, which recruits helpful residents in the community as volunteers. Finding the volunteering opportunity to be novel and meaningful, Jean decided to rope her sister, Wendy, in.
Volunteering is nothing new to the both of them. Jean has done some ad-hoc volunteering in the past, while Wendy, a grandmother of four, used to help out at an elderly home, assisting in the morning exercises and pushing the elderly on wheelchairs to lunch.
This time, however, both sisters get to embark on a new volunteering experience together. As part of the programme, the sisters had to first undergo a half-day training on various aspects such as falls risk and prevention, basic hand hygiene and infection control, fire safety, and wheelchair handling. After which, they were able to choose their preferred working times and volunteering frequency to best match their existing schedules.
Jean and Wendy currently volunteer once a week, on Tuesdays, for around two to three hours each time. They are mostly stationed at the appointment area to help patients with tasks such as using the self-service kiosks for registration and payment.
Wendy shares, “People would come and they wouldn’t know the queue system at the polyclinic so we would help them. Some would forget to take the queue number, or some would have an appointment slip and we would show them to a certain counter.”
In addition, they also help to give directions to new patients who may be unfamiliar with SHP-Marine Parade. Says Jean, “Having been lost in a hospital once, I can appreciate the patients’ needs in the polyclinic.”
The sisters share that most of the senior patients they have met so far have been quite nice.
“The seniors like to talk to us because we speak in dialect. They often ask us to sit down and chat,” says Wendy.
Recalling an incident when there was no response to a queue number when it was called, Jean shares that she went around searching for the patient with the queue number. An elderly patient noticed and joined Jean in her search. “She was very sweet,” says Jean.
Wendy, too, has her share of positive patient encounters – from helping a young patient who didn’t have her handphone to call her mother, to looking after a patient’s elderly mother in the polyclinic while the patient dealt with an urgent car problem. Indeed, because of her helpful disposition, Wendy is recognised by many of the patients of SHP-Marine Parade.
She adds, “I feel I am doing something good for the community, and feel happy and useful to be able to help someone. There is much to learn here from the many different situations with the patients … It feels good when people give positive feedback when you are here and are appreciative.”
As an added bonus, the sisters are also able to use this experience to enjoy quality bonding time together. After their volunteering stint each week, Jean and Wendy usually have lunch together and do some grocery shopping before heading home.
Supported by the Silver Volunteer Fund (administered by Council for Third Age), the Helping Hands volunteer programme was first piloted at SHP-Marine Parade in February 2016, and officially launched in 2017.
So far, more than 21 volunteers aged 50 and above have been recruited, with the oldest being 79 years old. The programme will be progressively rolled out to the rest of its polyclinics to promote active ageing in the community and encourage more like Jean and Wendy to volunteer into their silver years.
If you want to be a Helping Hands volunteer at SingHealth Polyclinics, e-mail your name, contact number and date of birth to: SHP.HelpingHands@singhealth.com.sg.
Source: Ageless Online
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