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Your Later Life 2019

How chair-based exercise has improved my wellbeing

Pauline West (pictured)

Volunteer, Royal Voluntary Service

“I would encourage anyone to volunteer”, says Pauline. “If you want to get out of the house, get out of a rut, keep your mind alive to a variety of people and situations; and feel you have helped others, then volunteer.”


Pauline West, 79, volunteers with Royal Voluntary Service as an on-ward visitor and chair-based exercise volunteer.

Pauline visits patients on-ward at the Furness General Hospital and her chair-based exercise classes improve patients’ wellbeing and mobility.

I visit patients, often older people, to provide companionship and a friendly face to chat with. I also run exercise classes on ward and in the community, which help people stay active.

“The hardest part for the exercises is getting patients interested. It involves them leaving their comfort zone but, once they do, they always love it. Patients will often then stay on after a class to chat with each other.”

Volunteering keeps me stimulated, challenges any preconceptions that might be dominating my ideas and provides me with an ever-growing circle of experience.

I enjoy hearing people’s memories and seeing them smile

I enjoy listening to people’s stories, stimulating recollection of memories both recent and in the past, hearing their concerns and helping them work out for themselves a way to handle them. It is so rewarding to see them smile, laugh and relax. Sometimes it even gives them space for tears and anger that they may struggle to express otherwise,” she says.

I was a pharmacist before I retired and the idea of visiting patients on-ward really appealed to me. Later, the chair-based exercise sessions were mentioned, and they seemed a necessary and worthwhile activity. I undertook some specialist training and now help with three exercise classes every week.”

Supporting hospital staff who are already stretched

A hospital’s role is treating people who are unwell. It needs to be efficient to produce good outcomes, but also be caring.

The reassuring, friendly attitude of hospital staff is vital, but volunteers can provide simple things that change the hospital experience, making patients feel more comfortable.

We provide staff with an extra pair of hands when needed and have the time to organise social activities on-ward to relieve boredom and reduce that ‘helpless feeling’ patients often experience.

The volunteers, by their work and chatter, help people feel at home and contribute to improving the whole health of the patient.

Volunteering has given me the opportunity to mix with a wide variety of people. It keeps me stimulated, challenges any preconceptions that might be dominating my ideas and provides me with an ever-growing circle of experience.

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