volunteers of all nationalities needed to help in vital work

Red Cross provides assistance for people in their own homes

volunteers. The idea of forming a group was a follow-on from the Red Cross hospital visits

Set up last year the Home Group helps people who have left hospital and have no-one to care for them and also those who are lonely or need support

g. were & v. lee.Maó

For many years now volunteers of the Red Cross have been visiting foreign patients daily, residents and tourists alike, at the Hospital Virgen de Monte Toro in Mahón. The volunteers assist with translation, repatriation, insurance, etc., and offer comfort and help in what is often a very confusing and distressing situation for patients, especially when they do not speak Spanish.

With the rapid increase of foreign residents on the island, it became clear that a further service was needed to help when people leave hospital, and do not have family or friends to care for them, and also for people who are lonely, needing moral support, or just want a friendly chat. When confronted with illness and disability, people often do not know to whom to turn for help and comfort, and so to this end, the Red Cross Home Group was formed last autumn by Vicki Lee, Pat Plank, Sally Harrison and Tracy Jenks, and the volunteers have to date helped 27 residents.

People are visited regularly in their homes to assess their present and future needs. We put them in touch with private individuals, organisations, and agencies who can help them and we will make arrangements for non-Spanish speaking residents. Assistance ranges from putting people in touch with domiciliary carers, nurses, meals on wheels, telealarms, mobility aids, or dog-walking, to just being there when a person who is distressed or bereaved needs someone to talk to. We also have volunteers who will give practical help, such as minor household repairs and driving. We would welcome contact from other caring groups as we feel that there is a huge need to integrate all the help which is available on this island, with the aim of ensuring that everybody who has needs has them answered by a united effort.

The Red Cross Home Group needs volunteers of all nationalities, but not necessarily fluent in Spanish, who are caring and sensitive to the needs of others, will keep confidentiality, and are able to help people to help themselves. Anyone wanting to join the Home Group will first have an informal selection interview, and will be given initial training in the form of an Induction Course. We have volunteers who are qualified in various caring professions and are able to provide in-house training on a variety of relevant subjects. All volunteers join the Red Cross and attend a short Red Cross Orientation course. The Group meets once a month to update and provide support for one another.

Everyone is encouraged to attend talks and courses locally, to further their knowledge and experience. To date the members of the Hospital and the Home Groups have attended a talk given by the Palliative Care Unit at the Virgen de Monte Toro about their hospital work and their domiciliary work. In May the groups attended a three day workshop on the work of Elisabeth Kübler Ross, dealing with life, death and bereavement, to help us to be more able to help others.

The Red Cross relies on the generosity of people to continue its work, and often people who have benefited from our help wish to give a donation. Those people who gave donations yesterday are helping people in need today, as the donations given today will benefit other people tomorrow.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the Home Group, or people needing our help, should contact Vicki Lee on 648 168 034.