Why Volunteering Should Be The Next Top Mission for Us All!
How I was compelled to volunteer during this current crisis.
It was the end of March and an email in my inbox instantly caught my eye. It was titled “Expression of Interest Volunteering for NHS Nightingale Hospital”.
The NHS Nightingale was built as a field Hospital to accomodate up to 4000 patients needing Intensive care in the COVID crisis.
In just 9 days, London’s Excel centre, which I have visited multiple times for conferences and exhibitions, was tranformed into an intensive care!
I work as a Paediatrician in London. Thankfully, COVID-19 has largely spared children. I know that most hospitals in London have significantly ramped up their intensive care capacity. But if we are anticipating another 4000 ventilated patients, where will the staff to look after them come from?
I have previously worked in Children’s intensive care, however I do prefer my day job of looking after relatively well children, where I can interact with them and their families. Could I still cope with intensive care? And I had never looked after adults since my internship, which was in the last millennium!
Taking on the Challenge!
I filled the form tentatively, offering my services 2 days a week. I replied back immediately, breaking one of my fundamental rules. I always ponder over a tricky email overnight. I knew however, if I listened to my rational self, I would still keep the email in my outbox. Afterall we have young children; who would look after them through the school lockdown?
So after the first couple of texts to my wife (who is a General Practitioner in the NHS) and my parents (who are the worrying kind, back in India), I started planning the task at hand in forensic detail.
- Will it be safe?
- Will I be paid to volunteer?
- Will my life and health insurance cover me?
- What can I contribute?
- If I am volunteering part time, should I let my regular employer know?
- What about childcare?
I didn’t know the answers to most of my questions. Suggestions kept coming thick and fast while I brushed up on my intensive care skills on Youtube and watched videos of donning and doffing PPE (wearing and removing Personal Protective Equipment). I kissed my kids, packed my bag and was mentally ready to be called anytime; I had agreed to 2 shifts per week, which I could manage in my schedule. I now feel ready for the challenge ahead!
But my mind drifted back to a Unique Tribe; the better amongst us – Volunteers.
The Games Makers of London (2012) Olympics
Almost instantly I thought of the volunteers (Games Makers) who made the London Olympics extra special. Noisy and interactive, they thrilled the crowd and exhilarated the contestants. Everyone was at home at London 2012 thanks to the volunteers! Most had to give up a minimum of 10 days with no pay, no expenses, no accommodation, for some, sleeping at a makeshift campsite. They had many different jobs such as venue assistance, transport and medical support. But their experience had been simply amazing! Ordinary people like you and me, from all walks of life came together and left a lasting legacy.
And Elizabeth our own Volunteer in her Nineties; was she OK ?
And suddenly I remembered our Nonagenarian volunteer Elizabeth. A teenager during the Second World War, she was still bright as a button (though quite deaf ) and recounted her childhood stories as if it was yesterday. She loved helping out in the Paediatric department, from folding letters to clearing cups of tea, always with a smile.
Her diabetes wasn’t well controlled and the last I had heard of her was she had a nasty chest infection. I frantically checked with our secretaries one after the other, till someone could reassure me that she was home and well.
It dawned on me that volunteering wasn’t just about responding to a crisis. It was about supporting friends, neighbours and even strangers.
I have been busy planning my career. Infact so busy that I have never had the chance to visit Florence Nightingales’s museum, in the grounds of St Thomas’ Hospital London, where I have trained for many years. Any free time is probably devoted to catching up on the Stock Price of Tesla!
I do love to watch my kids play. I volunteer as a first aider where my son plays rugby, but my last serious endeavour at volunteering was at the turn of last century, immunising children in remote parts of India. OK, so I have been a doctor for several high altitude trekking missions. But I suspect it was the adventure that beckoned me, rather than a true sense of volunteering.
Needless to say I caught up with all news COVID related.
I was now ready for my mission. I could see the crisis unfold in London. Quite unlike my normal practice, I decided to email most of the parents whose children I look after, a factual update on the current situation, reassuring them that their children would be fine. Several got back to me, eagerly asking if they could volunteer or help in any way! Infact many of them had already registered as a NHS Volunteer Responder. This scheme became so successful in just a few days, that recruitment was temporarily paused to process the initial 750,000 applications!
NHS Nightingale was officially inaugurated in the first week of April. Prof Richard Schilling Deputy Clinical Director of NHS Nightingale tweeted the moving picture above while waiting for the first admission.
A week later, I still hadn’t been called. I made some more enquiries and I inferred that due to the sheer number of professionals who had put their names forward, I was on a reserve list! I continue to see my patients regularly, mostly on video consultations and many thankfully are getting better! I have agreed to help seeing children in A&E and inpatient wards.
The long road ahead
As you read this article, I hope we are winning the war against Coronavirus. I hope The NHS Nightingale and similar hospitals in the UK and rest of the world are never used to full capacity. That can only be a good sign. And the Excel centre can go back to staging conferences and wedding expos.
But I know a lot of people are hurting. The world will need healing and for quite some time, life will never be the same. After all the superheroes at the frontline have saved the world, ordinary people like you and me need to help pick up the pieces.
Today where the world is more divided than ever, with countries having suddenly sealed their borders, there are endless stories of suffering and strife. There are many who have lost their loved ones and their jobs. I read tales of people who are stranded and have taken arduous journeys on foot to be near their loved ones. Its time we find the Good Samaritan within ourselves to help the less fortunate on the long road ahead.
After all this is over, I know I need to volunteer more!
