Health and social student Sophie steps up
Wed, 10 June 2020
Tameside College student, Sophie Curran took on voluntary work as a medical runner for Tameside Hospital.
Sophie, a former pupil at Denton Community College, volunteered on a ward that provides aftercare for stroke patients as part of her health and social care placement prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Sophie was no longer able to volunteer on her usual ward, she immediately asked what she could do to help, taking on a new role as a medical runner. She volunteered every Sunday from 1-4pm for the first four weeks of lockdown.
Medical runners collect the required medicines and hand them safely over to various wards. During her time volunteering, Sophie also delivered medicine to the critical care unit where patients fighting the coronavirus are cared for.
For Sophie, taking on volunteering was a chance to understand what it was like to work in a hospital setting.
Sophie said: "Volunteering has helped with my communication skills and taught me many things that I couldn’t learn anywhere else. Most of all though, it enabled me to feel I was doing something to help care for people who were suffering from coronavirus."
"I also volunteered because I wanted to help the NHS during the crisis. One thing I will always remember is how hard the frontline staff work and how strong they are."