Disability History Month: former patients giving back to our hospitals
A disabled former child patient who volunteers at Nottingham hospitals is urging others to join him –to give something back, boost employment skills, and gain confidence.
This month is Disability History Month (UKDHM) and the theme is Disability, Livelihood, and Employment.
Nathan Thompson, 35, has been volunteering at NUH for 15 years. Nathan has Cerebral Palsy. He became a volunteer through our Youth Service after using the service as a youngster and still volunteers with them today, as well as supporting with NUH’s Meet and Greet service.
“I have Cerebral Palsy, which can affect people in many different ways; for me it's mainly balance and coordination. I like to keep active as it keeps me mobile.”
Nathan volunteers for between six and nine hours a week: “Volunteering allows me to meet new people, build my CV, and gain new skills – but also to gain confidence. It also means I can give something back to the services and the hospital that’s helped me. If anyone is considering volunteering, I’d really recommend it.”
UKDHM uses the social model of disability – that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference. Barriers can be physical, like buildings not having accessible toilets. Or they can be caused by people's attitudes, like assuming disabled people can't do certain things.
The social model helps recognise barriers that make life harder for disabled people. Removing these barriers creates equality and offers disabled people more independence, choice and control.
Nathan was a regular at NUH as a child, with frequent physio and orthotics appointments. He said: “I found out about the youth service after an operation. I used the service to meet others, to go to the youth club, and I went on trips and residentials – it works with patients aged 11 to 19 years old. I now volunteer in the youth club, and on trips and residentials.”
Bushan Dhiri, who had a serious accident in 1990, also volunteers at NUH. In 1994, he had an operation on his spine and could no longer do the job he’d been doing for 23 years.
“I had just bought a new car a few months before my accident. I had a big mortgage and a small child, and I thought ‘how am I going to make ends meet?’. But there is always someone watching over good people, and my wife took on a full-time job.”
After around eight more operations, and regular pain injections at City Hospital, Bushan realised that he wouldn’t be able to get back into paid employment. He said: “Everybody kept rejecting me on the grounds that I'm not stable on my feet and I was a high risk.”
As a member of Nottingham Back Pain Group. Bushan and other members helped organise various fundraising drives.
He decided he wanted to give something more back to NUH and asked his specialist if there was any voluntary work he could do. He talks to patients in the pain management clinic, before and after their injections, lending a friendly and experienced ear.
“I really enjoy it," said Bushan. "I’m a people person. When people talk about their different experiences, their parents, their children, their lives, I can relate.
“Unfortunately, my various health problems mean I haven’t really been able to help this year, but the voluntary service stays in touch with me – there is such an understanding of disability in the service, and such support. They don’t pressure you in any way - I'm not locked into going in if I’m not well. And it’s a real lift when people ask where I am on the days I’m not there – they remember me."
“There’s a lot of satisfaction to be had in volunteering," said Bushan. "It’s really good for your mental health and how you feel about your own situation. Anyone who is considering volunteering should grab the opportunity – it definitely helps you see life in a different way.”
Kerry Harper, voluntary services manager at NUH said: “Both Bushan and Nathan have continued to triumph amid adversity in their lives, going above and beyond their own personal challengers, to find time to support and improve our patients’ and staff’s lives in a selfless and dedicated manner. Our hospital is a much richer place for having such devoted volunteers.”
Jack Adlam, Director of Communications and Engagement and Executive Lead for Voluntary Services, said: “In August, we launched the Everyone is Welcome Here campaign to demonstrate that we are an inclusive organisation – and Bushan and Nathan are living proof of how diversity runs throughout our hospitals and everything we do. Our volunteers are vital and valued members of our organisation.
“Our volunteers do an incredible job, day in, day out – supporting our staff, patients, families and carers, and enhancing our patients’ experience: we are truly grateful. The commitment and dedication they show to our Trust is particularly admirable when they have their own, ongoing challenges yet still give their time to help others.”
If you’d like to find out more about volunteering at NUH, please visit: Volunteering | NUH
To find out more about our Youth Service, visit: www.nuhyouthservice.org