Friends of the Royal Cornwall Hospital

Befriending Service and Cornwall Beside the Sea Calendar

The Friends of the Royal Cornwall Hospital provide companionship and support for isolated people through their befriending service.

The Friends of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals were formed in 1940 to support Truro's Hospitals. They are a group of several hundred dedicated volunteers who live in the towns and villages served by the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, with the aim of improving the comfort and quality of services provided to patients and staff.

One of the projects supported by the Friends, in partnership with the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, is the befriending service. The aim of this service is to make the patients' stay in hospital as pleasant and comfortable as possible.

What the befriending service provides:

• Company and a friendly chat
• Letter writing service
• Reading with patients
• Friendly support when people come for an appointment
• Errand running service, such as buying newspapers or other items from the hospital shop, or posting letters
• Patient guidance and transport within the hospital.

The service is responsible to the committee of the Friends, voluntary services, pastoral services, British Red Cross, hospital staff, directorate senior nurse, volunteer coordinators, and the Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS). These groups have come together to form the befriending operational management group - a strong example of working in partnership.

Another project supported by the Friends is the Cornwall Besides the Sea fundraising calendar. The calendar is a collection of photographs of Cornwall, displaying beautiful scenes of the ocean, sand, flowers and greenery that can be seen there. The calendar is personally endorsed by local celebrity Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, star of BBC's interior design show Changing Rooms. Laurence's irresistible charm and flair for memorable designs makes him everyone's favourite interior designer and a natural choice to endorse a calendar that can brighten up any home. When Steven Matthews, producer of the calendar, rang up Laurence's agent, he said that he would be happy to support it.

The project has been a great success: over 5,000 calendars were sold last year! One thousand of those were sold over the Internet and the rest were sold at events and festivals throughout Cornwall, as well as in the hospital shop. With Laurence's support, the calendars have sold better and achieved a higher profile in the press.

With all of the calendars sold, the Friends were able to cover the print bill and make £12,000 profit, which they used to buy new equipment for the Accidents and Emergency ward of the hospital. In addition, this project helped to raise the profile of the Friends.

Plans for the future include the expansion of the service across the entire hospital, and the recruitment and training of volunteers to meet specific needs.

Quotes

“A short note to say a big thank you to members of your team. I was a long way from home during my stay in Truro Hospital and your befrienders visited me on a regular basis. This helped, not having the family around, and was very much appreciated. I will never forget the care I received in Truro Hospital and the kindness of the befrienders.”

“Here I am sending you a few lines. Itís to say a very big thank you for all your kindness to me in hospital. I appreciated your visits to me, always with a smile on your face.”

“Many thanks for the rapid and reliable service you provided whilst my daughter was in the ward. It was a great assistance to us as a family at a difficult time.”

“This kind of project is not something that should be taken lightly and a lot of marketing was involved, but we were very pleased with the results.” — Steven Matthews, producer of the Cornwall Beside the Sea Calendar

Contact details

Mrs R Archer
01872 250000
http://www.cornwall.nhs.uk/rcht/