“I’ve reached a stage now where I’ve retired from my day job; now is the time for me to do the things that I love and have a passion for”
Meet David Venn, a new Bank Healthcare Assistant (HCA) in our Luton & Dunstable (L&D) University Hospital Emergency Department (ED) team. Although he’s new, he has been a familiar face for a long time. David was volunteering at the L&D from March 2022, and has been volunteering with St John ambulance for 14 years so far.
Before becoming a Bank HCA, David was part of a relatively new group: in the past volunteers were not allowed to be directly involved in clinical work in the hospital, but due to the extensive training all St John Ambulance workers receive, David and others were able (and keen) to volunteer in ED.
During this time David was able to hone his skills, speak to patients, and see how it all worked, and a doctor in ED suggested he get a position there. Having just retired from his previous role, and never one to spend too much time relaxing, David decided to look into joining the Trust.
Ben Small, Emergency Department Matron said: “The Emergency Department are delighted with the response from St John Ambulance volunteers to support in the department as we recognise how the volunteers add value to our patients and our staff. We are also delighted that such volunteering in our ED can support the volunteers in gaining further experience that can then be employed in their volunteer roles.
“David has led the way in volunteering in the department with St John and has helped us steer the service and bring in more members. We are delighted with how much support he has given and have received positive feedback from our patients and staff. David moving onto a HCA role after first volunteering with us is wonderful to see, we look forward to continuing to work with David in this new role.”