Nicholas’ services update
It’s been a busy month again in November which started with our Hearing Link Services (HLS) stand at the British Academy of Audiology (BAA) conference in Coventry, and finished at the Association of Independent Hearing Healthcare Professionals (AIHHP) conference in Oxfordshire.
A huge thank you to all the volunteers who helped making these events possible – read on for more details of our service activities.
British Academy of Audiology conference (BAA)
The BAA conference is primarily attended by NHS audiologists and their departmental teams. This two-day conference is the biggest of its kind for audiology professionals in the UK.
Our fabulous stand was set-up to welcome everyone who was interested in finding out more about our wide range of personalised services. We issued 200 delegate packs containing information on how patients can be referred to or access our services. We also talked about the value of our Hearing Support Sessions and Community Days, and highlighted our new offering – Helpful Hours.
This event is very busy, so a big thank you to all the volunteers involved with making it such a success. It was a real team effort, from David and Pam with all the packing and prep, to Shona, Viv, and Phil with hearing dog Rolo and Jane with hearing dog Robyn over the two days.
Community Outreach – Hearing Support Sessions
We had a welcome return to a full-house of Hearing Support Sessions in November!
Edinburgh
We’ve moved to Drumbrae Library from Blackhall Library and will stay here until spring 2024. This session is in addition to the monthly drop-in at the Edinburgh Audiology in Lauriston and offers an additional opportunity to meet peer support volunteers across the city.
London
The final session of the year was our strongest in terms of peer support volunteering with our regulars being joined by a new colleague from north London as we explore a new opportunity in the capital.
Worcestershire Royal
The second and final session of 2023 for this brand new clinical -based session, with an expanding volunteer workforce starting in January 2024! It has been an excellent year to date with 11 peer support volunteers so far helping over 200 people, resulting in a further 15 referrals to our other services. Thanks to everyone involved.
Services update
Helpdesk
The month hasn’t finished yet, though the 17 cases so far have helped push the year’s total to 230 cases completed! Well done to 13 volunteers involved with responding to the enquiries in November.
LinkUp Support groups
The final LinkUp support group of the year was held in Edinburgh for 17 participants. Many thanks to Ann, Charles, May and Catherine for volunteering over the weekend. Immediate responses from the group included: “pure dead brilliant”, “educational”, “illuminating”, “mutually supportive”, “fantastic”, “knowing you’re not alone”, and “very good and friendly”.
Hearing Loss Community Days
Just one event in November and this time we headed to Belfast. Around 35 attendees sought help and advice from peer support volunteers James and Craig, and engaged with other local service providers including sensory support, lipreading classes, RNID, Advanced Bionics, and the local police service. Thanks to our partnership colleagues Heather and Andie for organising.
Association of Independent Hearing Health Professionals (AIHHP) Conference
This conference, a regular date in our events calendar is aimed at professionals in the independent sector. We were able to present our services to front of house staff, as well as host a stand with lots of resources and information.
There was lots of positive feedback on the benefits of peer support and interest in referring to our services. Volunteer Nadine and hearing dog Elvis (pictured above) provided great opportunities to open up conversations with over 50 different organisations. Again, a huge thank you to Pam and David for preparing our kit for this event.
The Hearing Dogs Christmas Market
This is a brilliant fundraising event held that is eagerly anticipated to kick off the festive activities at Hearing Dogs. Over two days at The Grange over 100 volunteers braved the cold to man a selection of stands. Thank you to Sylvia, Jean, Pam and David for looking after our services stand. Hopefully you managed to warm up when you got home!
Keep up to date with our Teams page! Check out additional comments, photos and more information on all the services by going to the Teams page.