Rotorua Hospital has said a big thank you to the volunteers who help staff and patients.
This week is Volunteer Week and the Lakes District Health Board want to acknowledge the works the Friends of the Emergency Department (Feds) do.
The Feds are St John volunteers. When patients find themselves in the Emergency Department (ED) they are able to have a volunteer sit and talk to, to read with or to be a shoulder to lean on to help make their stay more comfortable.
At Rotorua and Taupo Hospitals about 55 volunteers give their time and their care to comfort people. They cover three, four-hour shifts per day, seven days a week. The team is led by volunteer Julie Evenden, who has been a Fed for six years.
"It's really fulfilling," she said.
"I get a real kick out of helping people."
Some of the jobs the volunteers do include getting a blanket if people are cold, chatting or reading to patients, supporting relatives, helping with children, making cups of tea for whanau, giving food to patients when approved by staff or getting magazines.
Ms Evenden said the job often meant talking to some people who were on their own in the emergency department.
"We provide non-clinical patient support, the ED team is brilliant at what they do, we complement the service, the nursing staff don't get a chance to sit and chat or get cups of tea. There's a great team in the emergency department."
When a high priority patient comes into ED, staff have to concentrate on those patients, Feds are able to explain to others in ED and reassure them that they haven't been forgotten.
Ms Evenden said St John valued the work volunteers did for their communities, they were treated the same as paid staff and received recognition in the form of service awards
"St John is a great organisation, you feel good when you've done your shift and have helped patients and the team in ED."
St John Central Region Community Care manager Kim Jacobs said Feds was a very popular volunteer programme with people from all walks of life applying for the role. St John often receives notes of appreciation for the comfort and support patients and their families receive.
"It is a marvellous programme which is successful due to the hundreds of volunteers who have given time to the programme in the 11 years thus far and the leadership teams throughout the regions who make it work."
There are Feds in 23 hospitals throughout the country with more than 900 volunteers nationwide.