Arriving on the ward
Once you are cleared to start as a volunteer and have completed your three competencies with your Dining Companion Coordinator you will be able to complete your volunteering duties without support from your coordinator.
When you arrive at the ward, you will be required to sign in. The signing in sheet is in a yellow folder which will be shown to you during your first induction to the ward. After signing in go to the nurse’s station. Explain you are a Dining Companion and ask to speak to the nurse in charge to identify which patient will require your support that mealtime.
The nurse will be able to tell you which patients need help and inform you if there is anything you need to know about that patient which will help you whilst supporting your patient.
For example, is this a patient living with dementia? Does this patient require a modified meal or have they been low in mood recently, so will require extra support and encouragement. Once you have your information, locate the bay area and bed number your patient is in. Introduce yourself and explain to the patient you will be supporting them with their meal today.
Patient’s Bedside Board 
When you have located your patient make sure you take the time to have a look at the patient’s bedside board. This will have key information such as what name the patient would prefer to be called. The board will also have symbols to identify risks to the patient, such as falls risk or identifying that the patient has a cognitive impairment. During your local induction with the Dining Companion Coordinator, they will explain what these symbols mean in more detail.
The board will also have an area for the patient to tell us ‘What matters most to me today’ This gives them an opportunity to tell us what is important to them. Sometimes it’s the smallest details that make the biggest difference and have a real impact on their care and recovery.