Barbara Tucker Giving Back for NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
Barbara decided to volunteer as a way of "giving back" to her community in response to the kind assistance her late husband, Colin, received from volunteers whilst he was an in-patient at Inverclyde Royal Hospital.
Big-hearted Barbara volunteers for Colin
A kind-hearted local resident is giving back at Inverclyde Royal Hospital in honour of her husband, after seeing how well looked after he was by staff and how comforted he was by volunteers.
Barbara Tucker, 82, from Wemyss Bay, joined NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s team of volunteers after her husband Colin passed away in May 2021.
At a time of such sadness for the entire family, Barbara was comforted to know that Colin had been well looked after by staff and was supported by volunteers.
She said: “I experienced some very special touches while Colin was in hospital, both from staff and from volunteers. I remember going up to see him once and seeing a beautiful crochet blanket, which had been made and provided by Compassionate Inverclyde.
“When we knew Colin was having end of life care, I heard about the No One Dies Alone (NODA) programme. I was so comforted to know that Colin would have someone with him should the family not be there, when we got the call we arrived and there was someone from NODA there.
“I think the staff were very sensitive and caring, I have a great admiration for the work nurses and doctors do. They were very supportive with us.
“After a while, I decided I wanted to give up some of my time to volunteer at the IRH. I didn’t feel the NODA side of things was something I could do, so I got in touch with the NHSGGC volunteer team and said I wanted to volunteer on a ward if possible. So now, each Tuesday I go to H South and help out.
“The fact that I witnessed the good things happening at this hospital was the motivation, there is good going on and I knew I could be part of it.”
Barbara and Colin met each other back in 1962 during their Salvation Army training in London, and enjoyed many happy years together along with daughter Hazel, who now lives in Renfrew, and son Russell, who lives in Belfast.
Barbara said: “Colin is always in our thoughts, we think about him every day. I don’t think the sadness of losing someone ever goes but I’m just trying to take it a day at a time.
“It’s a privilege to be able to volunteer here and to get to meet all of these new people.”
*photographs are Barbara with her late husband, Colin Tucker