Even worse, his deafness – and drink-related problems – had recently led to serious misunderstandings. When the district nurse visited Charles, she’d shout at him to make herself heard. Unfortunately, Charles took this as an act of aggression and shouted back. These ultimately led to the pensioner being refused service.
Building trust
And that’s when the Red Cross were called in to help. Anne, the volunteer, spent six weeks visiting Charles and building up a trusting relationship. As she spent time with the pensioner, patiently working through their communication difficulties, she soon came to realise that his ear condition was at the root of many of his problems.
Within a few weeks, she had taken him to the clinic to have his ears cleaned out and hearing aids re-fitted. Then she persuaded the local doctor and district nurse to start seeing Charles again, and sat in on their visits to help smooth the process. Everyone involved in the case was surprised to see such a marked improvement in so little time.
Jean Laughlin, service co-ordinator, said: “Anne, our volunteer, was brilliant. Charles had been in a really desperate situation, but now he’s so much better. We’ve also arranged to get him rehoused, which will make life so much better for him.
Dependable friend
“The way Anne managed to get all the services back to seeing him was unbelievable. All the previous awkwardness and aggression had occurred simply because his ears were so blocked and he’s profoundly deaf. He genuinely felt threatened by all these people shouting at him all the time.”
Jean added: “Anne really went the extra mile, often outside her usual volunteering hours. She took him on hospital visits, found a wheelchair, got him accepted back into his local doctors, took him out shopping and for walks, and pretty much resocialised him. We saw his aggression completely disappear as she supported him – it was an amazing turnaround. All along, he had just needed someone to depend on.”
Jean is convinced that the care in the home service, which helps thousands of people across the UK each year, sees the British Red Cross at its best. She said: “Ultimately, the Red Cross is all about helping people, whoever they are, and that’s what we’re doing here. Every day, our volunteers really are turning lives around and bringing hope to vulnerable people.”
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