"I felt it was really important that I contributed towards the national effort to support the NHS"

Published: 23 April 2020

Paramedic student, Rachel Harris.

St George’s are very proud of how our University community has come together to help the national, and international, effort against Covid-19. As part of this effort many of our students have been volunteering in different capacities. Final year Paramedic student, Rachel Harris, is one such volunteer and discusses what the experience has been like for her.

“I chose to volunteer as I felt it was really important that I contributed towards the national effort to support the NHS during such challenging times.

“I have a lot of friends who work on the NHS frontline and also have children. I remember when the prospect of schools and nurseries closing was first mentioned, my friends expressed how much this would affect them and I could see how stressful it was for them. I wanted to help in some way to enable frontline staff to go to work without worrying about childcare.

“At the start of the pandemic, student paramedics were not allowed on placement or to volunteer on the frontline which meant I had some spare time to help. I have always loved working with children and looking after them - I volunteered in a crèche prior to university. So when I saw the National Helping Hands Childcare scheme it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get involved with.

Quite tiring but fun

“I’ve really enjoyed the experience and feel privileged that these families are trusting me to look after their children in their homes. The first family I helped was looking after an 18-month-old for a GP and now most days I Nanny for a doctor looking after a three-year-old and a 13-month-old.

“As you can imagine it can be quite tiring but we have lots of fun and I have learned a lot along the way about childcare. We do lots of activities such as painting, playing in the garden, and making things. Seeing the children enjoying themselves is nice, I’ve found the experience has been both valuable and rewarding.

“I am currently writing my dissertation, and approaching the submission deadline, so ensuring I organise my time so that I have enough time to complete it is really important. Some in-service paramedic students juggle university work, working on the frontline and have family to look after which I totally admire - if they can do all that then I can certainly juggle studying and volunteering.

“It also helps that the family I help are really supportive and understand that I have university work too, so they never put pressure on me to do too much as they know I have a dissertation to complete.

Work together to support different areas of the frontline

“Being part of a healthcare community during the outbreak has been really touching. Seeing how many people have been volunteering in different ways really shows how St George’s students have come together to support the NHS and the wider community. Everyone I have spoken to has been so keen to help where they can.

“I have been involved in making hampers for NHS staff as part of the St George’s volunteer group Covid Response. It was overwhelming the amount of support we received from the wider community who wanted to contribute and I have met so many amazing students through the group that I did not know before.

“It also helps that we all work in different parts of the healthcare system so could work together to support different areas of the frontline through contacts from our courses etc. For example, I know a team leader for Waterloo ambulance station HQ so we were able to supply the station and the call centre with hampers for the staff.

“I think it is essential that as healthcare students we must not take our eyes off of the wider picture. Although getting involved in clinical opportunities is important, it’s also important to be looking out for your neighbours, checking in (via phone) on vulnerable relatives, considering donating blood, donating to food banks etc. There are so many ways that people can help outside of our medical competencies and I am keen for my peers to consider all avenues of support to protect vulnerable members of society.”

Watch Rachel's full interview.

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