Laurence Dopson considers the contribution older people are making to the Year of the Volunteer

‘Volunteers are invaluable in old people’s homes, especially for residents who have no family,’ says Diane Allen, manager of Somerset Care’s Moorhaven residential home in Taunton. Jeni Clark, who organises volunteers at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, says they help by doing for patients the sort of things that relatives would do. Ron Staker, chief executive of Brendon Care, says volunteers are vital in adding quality to the range of services that paid staff provide in residential and nursing homes. ‘It is really trying to find imaginative ways of adding to the quality of a resident’s day and matching the need with individuals who are prepared to give their time, knowledge and enthusiasm.’