The Health Buddy Initiative aims to help seniors in Canada who are facing challenges in accessing adequate health care, particularly when attending doctor’s appointments. Health Buddy volunteers are here to relieve the anxiety of senior patients during their appointments, ensuring they retain all the essential information from the doctor while also making family members rest assured that their loved ones are taken care of at these appointments.
Position Requirements:
Good note-taking and organizational skills (neat hand-writing preferred)
Ability to communicate with seniors in a respectful manner
Good time-management skills and punctuality
Sensitive and respectful to cultural diversity
Responsible and accountable
Vulnerable Sector Check
Volunteer Responsibilities:
Meet with your paired senior patient at their appointment location and accompany them to their doctor’s appointment.
Depending on your paired patient, you may need to assist them with their wheelchair or other mobility equipment.
Before the appointment, you will assist the senior by writing down a list of questions they’d like to ask.
During the appointment, you will write comprehensive notes, ask the doctor questions to clarify important information and remind the patients of any questions they forgot to ask.
Relay your notes to the patient at the end of each appointment.
Provide emotional support to patients to ensure they have a pleasant experience in the hospital.
Important Note:
Volunteers at all times must ensure maintenance of confidentiality and privacy and refrain from sharing any personal information disclosed during a patient’s appointment with anyone else.
Time Commitment:
Volunteers must attend at least two appointments per week, minimum ~4 hours a week.
Location:
Appointments take place all over London, including independent medical clinics and the local hospitals.
Contacts:
volunteer@healthbuddy.ca
Note:
It takes time for us to go through applications and book interviews - it may take up to a month to process your application. We do not have time to send out rejection emails if we choose not go forward with your application. Please do not email us to double check if your application was received - if you submitted it, we received it.
