St John’s volunteers are at the heart of what we do. One of the many voluntary roles in our organisation is the transfer of patients who require regular renal dialysis.

The service has three voluntary care assistants who give up their own time to ensure the patients going for this essential treatment are at their appointments on time.

Heather, Paul and Tiffany help during the week with the transfer of renal patients to and from their appointments.

21 year old Tiffany has been a member of Ambulance Reserve for three years, is a member of the St John Voluntary Cliff Rescue Team and also observers the Paramedics once a month on front-line emergency ambulances.

“I like volunteering because I enjoy helping people feel connected with their community and not isolated within their own homes. I enjoy building relationships with the patients I transport on a weekly basis, finding out how their weeks have been and how they are doing”, she said.

Paul Kennedy was born in Bury Lancashire and moved to Guernsey in 1981. He is married to Pat who is a full time practice nurse. Paul joined St John Ambulance in 1990 and the Ambulance Reserve when it started in 1997 and has undertaken various roles in both organisations.

He said: “I enjoy meeting people and assisting the community that has given me so much in the past 33 years. I especially enjoy being of some help in a small way to people who have long term medical conditions. They always seem to look on the bright side and rarely let their conditions get them down.”

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Posted: October 30, 2014