Experiences of Non-Finance Work During COVID-19 by Finance Team
Jo Smethurst, Berni Collins, Katherine Tomlinson, and Amanda Fisher from the finance team have been volunteering at the Grow Your Own project during the pandemic, helping with gardening and other activities to support service users. The team shares their experiences of contributing to different projects outside their usual finance roles and the satisfaction they derive from helping others during challenging times.
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#doingourbit Finance Team Talk about their experiences of non finance work during Covid
Jo Smethurst, Berni Collins, Katherine Tomlinson and Amanda Fisher have been helping out at the Grow Your Own project based at Guild Park. It provides opportunities for service users and staff to grow food and increase their health activity. Usually 30+ service users a week are working down at the project but as this is not possible at the moment Liz Harrison is working tirelessly to keep it on track until they return. She would welcome any more volunteers who are interested. Louise Butler has also been out and about helping with the set up of the new ward in Longridge and doing sandwich deliveries!
Grow Your Own Project Here is a photo I m calling My Beautiful Courgette it s a tribute to a great 80 s film! Planting out courgette, cucumber and melon seedlings was my first job at GYO and 4 weeks later look at them now! Ah the magic of gardening. I m really enjoying my time at GYO Liz puts her heart and soul into looking after it and the service users who get so much from being there, so I m glad I can help out a bit until they can get back on site. Jo Smethurst
Grow Your Own Project I ve been down to the GYO Project for 4 mornings now and have enjoyed every minute. It s great to get away from home and spend time in the outdoors (or in a polytunnel!). So far I ve done some potting on of tomato and other plants, made hanging baskets, planted onions and fennel, weeded and taken bottom leaves and side shoots off tomato plants I think there s a proper name for that job! Everything I ve planted is actually growing which is great to see! However, Liz is always keen to show me how much Berni and Jo have done while they were there not that it s a competition - apparently! Katherine Tomlinson
Grow Your Own Project Amanda Fisher I have been volunteering at the Grow your own Project for about 4 weeks now. Grow your own is a project where service users go and benefit from growing plants and vegetables. Unfortunately, under lock down the patients have not been able to go down to the project, so they asked for volunteers to help out. I have been going one morning a week and help Liz Harrison out. I am not green fingered but do what I can, this includes potting plants, watering and pruning. This helps Liz out and allows her time to spend on the wards.
Ive done 2 lots of volunteering so far. The first time was a morning at Longridge Hospital to help set up the new 5 bedded ward downstairs. Initially I helped move some furniture, then was opening boxes of medical supplies & helping stock the store room and utility room. We then moved onto sanitising & making up the beds. I don t think my mum, who was a nurse, would have been too impressed with my sheet corners! I also helped deliver the sandwiches that Aldi donated to staff. I went into the office for a while first it was nice to see a couple of our staff in there Jeanette, Sam, Rabia & Dom. Then once they d arrived I packed up the car with the trays of sandwiches & set off on a little tour. First stop off was Ribble House in Bamber Bridge for Estates & IT, then down to Lingmell House in Chorley for Risk & Assurance, then up to the Minerva in Preston for L&OD & finally over to St Peters Centre in Burnley for the Children s Complex Needs staff. Just as I was leaving Burnley I got a flat tyre, luckily right near a KwikFit which was open. Just glad it didn t happen before I d delivered the sandwiches, otherwise there would have been some very hungry staff! It was interesting to see some Trust premises I d never visited before & feel I was doing my bit, (bit being the operative word!) but it was beneficial for me too, with a change of scenery & getting out of the house, if only for a while. Louise Butler
Lucy Matthews: At the start of COVID-19 I spent some time working in the major incident room as part of the admin team around 1 day a week for about 3 weeks. I really enjoyed getting to see how the trust was dealing with the COVID-19 situation and the processes involved. The senior leadership team were extremely organised in delivering what was required ie Sit Reps, communication updates, data gathering etc. It was inspiring to see such strong leaders managing the ever changing situation. I have learnt how valuable strong leadership and clear direction can be to achieve outcomes as the team placed in the Major Incident Room was a team of people from all different areas of the trust; Ops, Communication, Finance, Strategy etc. Teamwork and strong communication is key. Although my stint in the Major Incident Room was not long, I felt a sense of pride knowing that I was helping fight COVID-19 and it was great for me to see the Trust from a different perspective, not just a finance.
