Kindness, compassion and a free car ride goes a long way when you’re undergoing hospital treatment for health issues, such as terminal cancer or kidney dialysis.<\/p>\n
Often patients rely on the goodwill of strangers, many of whom become friends.<\/p>\n
The volunteer drivers for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) are among the lesser known roles that keep the health service ticking along – and they do it all for free.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It is vital to the running of NIAS,\u00a0\u00bb said Yvonne McMichael from NIAS.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0They go above and beyond on the daily.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
More than 75 people, from across Northern Ireland, give up their time – and cars – as part of NIAS’s Voluntary Car Service.<\/p>\n
Among them is Willie Hutchinson whose three children have all had kidney transplants.<\/p>\n
Before their transplants, they underwent dialysis – a procedure which removes waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0They used the car service quite a lot to get to the renal units,\u00a0\u00bb the former lorry driver told BBC News NI.<\/p>\n
For him, volunteering is his way of \u00ab\u00a0pay back\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Somebody did it for them so I’m doing it for somebody else,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
In 2023, the grandfather of six was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to healthcare.<\/p>\n
Mr Hutchinson’s nominee was a patient he brought to and from hospital appointments for a number of years.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0The day that I got the award, I had brought him home \u2013 he wasn’t well \u2013 and I took him into the house and he more or less fell into the chair,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I told his wife to ring for the doctor.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0He died that afternoon so he never found out that I’d got the award after all the work he had done to put me forward for it.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It was a bit sad and bittersweet that he didn’t know I’d got it but his family were thrilled to bits for me.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
The volunteer drivers are not employed, or paid, by NIAS, and only receive a mileage allowance for transporting patients – in their own cars – to and from hospital appointments.<\/p>\n
The voluntary service saves NIAS money as it is significantly cheaper – and uses less resources – than taxis or ambulances.<\/p>\n
Tommy Nicholl, a former mayor of Mid and East Antrim, has been on dialysis for almost seven years and relies on the service.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I can tell you from experience that volunteer drivers are not just transport but they’re part of the caring system,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0These volunteer drivers give of their time freely. It’s not just a lift to them, they have compassion, they bring calmness at a time when a patient like me needs that.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
With ambulances in high demand and staff and resources stretched, Yvonne McMichael, who oversees the volunteer car service, says the work the volunteers do is \u00ab\u00a0top tier\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0With the capacity levels that we have at the minute, we do not have enough ambulances to provide the service to everyone who needs to get,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0They cover Northern Ireland, providing service to seven renal units and also transferring patients to the two cancer centres at Belfast City Hospital and Altnagelvin, as well as taking patients to other appointments.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Before becoming a volunteer driver, Martin Garrity had worked in an office for 35 years.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I wanted a wee change,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I was chatting to a friend of mine who was doing voluntary driving at the time and he suggested to me I try it and 15 years on, I’m still here.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
For him, the best thing about it is the people he has met.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0When you have your patients maybe three times a week, you build up a friendship with them and their families and they’re so appreciative,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0You get close to them and they confide in you about certain things. Sometimes there’s bad news and it’s sad, it’s tough.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
So will he still be volunteering in another 15 years?<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I hope so,\u00a0\u00bb he said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0The reward you get is worth it and I’d say the other drivers would say the same.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kindness, compassion and a free car ride goes a long way when you’re undergoing hospital treatment for health issues, such as terminal cancer or kidney dialysis. Often patients rely on the goodwill of strangers, many of whom become friends. The volunteer drivers for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) are among the lesser known roles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8917\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}