Volunteer Team
End of life Care - Butterfly Volunteer Service
Fundraising for Friends of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Story
On Sunday, October 13th, the volunteering team, Butterfly Volunteers and staff will walk from West Middlesex University Hospital to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to raise funds for the Butterfly Project, End of Life Care Volunteer Service.
The walk will be along the River Thames and the surrounding green areas and will cover about 8 miles.
Butterfly Volunteers provide a peaceful presence to patients who are in the last weeks, days or hours of their life. Offering dying patients’ company and comfort at this time, supporting patients’ families and those close to them, with respite and advocating where needed. The team is made up of 26 volunteers based in both West Middlesex and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
'I feel privileged to have the opportunity to support the Butterfly volunteers and am often in awe of the extraordinary people that they are. The service they provide is vital to the patients and their families, we have supported over 530 patients, with 2,329 visits, which is amazing! - Amber, Butterfly Volunteer Manager.
The patient was asleep when I arrived. He woke, looked at me, and said, 'How nice to see you.' We had a lovely chat about where he used to live and talked a lot about his childhood. He was a lovely man who seemed genuinely pleased to see me. He held my hand tightly when I left. - Butterfly volunteer.
Thank you so much for your presence, Nicola. So nice to have someone here to talk with in such a human and friendly supportive way. – patient at WM
The Butterfly Volunteer was so lovely and easy to talk to. I really appreciate her kind and thoughtful visits. A great and very needed service!
"The impact that the Butterfly Volunteer programme has had on the quality of care delivered to patients at the end of life, and those important to them, cannot be overstated. The volunteers bring their companionship and compassion to patients at a time that can feel very challenging and offer something different yet so complimentary to the clinical care. We are delighted that the project is now established at both hospital sites, ably led by the Butterfly Volunteer Manager. A huge thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers!"
Dr Louise Robinson, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Medical Lead for End of Life
The Friends of Chelsea and Westminster have generously supported this project since February 2024, funding the salary of the Butterfly Volunteer Manager, who recruits and oversees a team of volunteers training to support end-of-life patients.
Any donation, large or small will help us support this valuable award winning service into 2025 and beyond across the Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust.