Pruning trees, serving up home-made cakes and offering a foot massage and a friendly ear are all in a day's work at Port Kembla Hospital. Picture: DAVE TEASE
Pruning trees, serving up home-made cakes and offering a foot massage and a friendly ear are all in a day's work at Port Kembla Hospital.
A 38-strong army of volunteers works from sunrise to sundown to make the ambience for palliative care patients as close to homely as they can.
"It's hard to explain why I love volunteering here so much, except to say that being here with these gracious people is just so wonderful, " said 67-year-old volunteer Robert McCammon.
"I truly get as much out of it as they do," he said.
"Most of the patients don't want to make a fuss, but it's their time to make a fuss."
Mr McCammon, a former steelworker, also spares a few hours a week for residents at Illawarra nursing homes, but said there was something special about Port Kembla Hospital.
"The empathy everybody has on the wards, the nursing staff, kitchen staff, it's truly magnificent," he said.
Palliative care volunteer co-ordinator Nicole Giorotto said each volunteer gave about four hours a week.
"Our volunteers assist on the wards with meals, they give gentle hand and foot massages, and home-cooked morning tea," she said.
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Port Kembla Hospital.