After a career working mainly in the NHS, volunteering for HWR provides an opportunity to use my knowledge and skills to help contribute to improving local services and benefitting the community.
I joined Healthwatch Rutland as I had been a member of its forerunners, Link and its predecessors.
My driving passion has always been Dementia and it still is. I am very pleased at the moment with the state of Dementia in Rutland and the various activities that are ongoing to support all those known to us who are receiving a lot more support, due to the activities of our Admiral Nurses and their Nurse support,and the Age UK who are working closely with them.
It is things like networking, speaking to other people our own age and letting them know about our work which makes being a volunteer valuable.
As a Rutland resident I wanted to give something back to my community and hope to help in some small way. Being a board member of Healthwatch Rutland has empowered me to feel that I have a voice and can discuss health issues that I know worry particularly the elderly and more vulnerable people of Rutland.
Young Healthwatch is a brilliant opportunity for me and people my age to get involved with youth health issues in Rutland. Fitting in my role with my studies is not the easiest but having a flexible team makes things move forward... We design our own surveys and make the events happen to get the surveys done and make new contacts. My vision for the future of is to encourage more people to engage, volunteer and be concerned about the welfare of the young people in Rutland.
I joined HWR because I was very concerned about the local difficulties in getting a GP appointment. Then I realised that the work that Healthwatch does matches exactly with my skills and interests and also provides the challenge I need to keep me actively and meaningfully involved in my retirement.
