Metro South Health > Princess Alexandra Hospital

Our services | Volunteer Services

Make a difference to thousands...

Would you like to become a PA Hospital volunteer?

Our hospital has over 5000 staff and cares for over 370,000 patients each year. We are one of three tertiary level facilities in Queensland and one of Australia’s leading teaching and research hospitals.

Some people volunteer during high-school or university, to gain exposure to different health care professions. Others volunteer at later stages in their life, particularly after retirement. There are no ‘typical’ volunteers at the PA Hospital and we welcome people from all walks of life.

Volunteers are valued at our hospital; and their roles can be broadly defined into three categories:

Support to the Visitors and Public
Support to Patients and their families
Support behind-the-scenes

It is important for you to think about what you would like from your volunteer experience so that we can best match you to one of our roles.

Volunteer Roles

With visitors and the public:

Meet and Greet - Support the information desk and admissions staff by guiding patients and visitors around the Hospital.
Tea and Coffee Trolley Service - Provide tea and coffee to patients and carers who have long wait times in the busy outpatient clinic areas.
Ushers - Greet patients and visitors at the front entrance, provide parking advice and maintain a smooth flow of traffic and pedestrians.

With patients and their families:

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Support - Provide empathy and support to patient relatives in the ICU Waiting room.
Library Trolley - Visit patients in the hospital wards and provide a free library service.
Patient Visitor / Peer Support - Visit patients in the hospital wards to provide companionship and social contact.
Petals Floristry - Brighten patients days and care for their flowers on the hospital wards.
Recreation Support - Support the Leisure Therapist and Recreation Officers in delivering activities such as: companionship, discussion groups, music therapy, leisure education, outdoor sessions, modified games and sports and relaxation therapy. Service areas include: Acute and Cancer, Aged Care, Mental Health and Older Persons Mental Health.
Volunteer Intervention Supporting Aged Care (VISA) - Support ward and allied health staff in the prevention and/or management of delirium and functional decline in elderly patients. Assisting with mobility of patients, reading and recreational activities, assisting with meals.

Behind-the-scenes:

Barista Coffee Fundraising - Operate the Nespresso coffee machine and deliver orders around the hospital to staff (training provided).
Crafts / Sewing - Creating goods for patient use (sew, kit, crohet) / Cutting patterns and sewing patient aides.
Departmental Support - Varied roles include: Assembling and maintaining patient crutches for Orthopaedics and Emergency, Peer Support if you are a past patient, Fundraising Raffles and Support to units that are not on PAH Campus.
Office Support - Help with routine office jobs and support internal departments with custom requests. Also support the volunteer unit by assisting with recruitment, retention and recognition of volunteers.

What is my commitment?

You can choose the hours you’d like to work, but for our standard roles we will ask you to commit to 4 hours per week for a minimum period of 3 months. If your circumstances permit, you may wish to volunteer for longer, but we understand that your time is precious. If you are unsure about your routine availability you might prefer a project role. Our service hours are from: 8am - 4pm Monday to Friday.

How do I join?

It is important to note that volunteer roles are not automatically offered and all applicants undergo the same recruitment and screening process

Call our office and tell us your name and contact details
We'll send you an application form [DOC, 3877KB], Which you'll complete and return to us.
We'll advise you that your application has been received
When there is a vacancy in a role you have selected we’ll arrange an interview with you and contact your referees
Roles are offered as positions become available and are matched to suit your skills and availability

How can you make a difference?

With visitors and the public

Volunteers with cheerful demeanour and helpful manners make getting around our large campus a lot easier. Volunteers help many special needs patients with better physical access to our services. Volunteers are ready to assist the moment people arrive at our front door.

With patients and their family

Volunteers have the time to listen, encourage and support. Sometimes it is difficult for the paid staff to spend as much time with our patients as they would like. Volunteers provide companionship and practical assistance for when patients can’t physically leave the ward. Volunteers also comfort family members and keep them informed about their loved ones.

Behind-the-scenes

A lot of the good work the volunteers do happens away from the public eye. Reliable and responsible volunteer support allows the front-line staff to spend more time helping our patients. Volunteers also draw upon their life skills and previous professional experience to assist in specialist volunteer roles and with project work.