Dr Lucienne Aguirre works as a volunteer doctor (GP) and attends to service users while they await registration with a GP, she also provides close-follow up with more vulnerable patients to give them the support that they need.
"As a volunteer doctor I'm providing healthcare to those that are not able to register with a GP and give mental health support. The biggest satisfaction is when one of my patients return to see you to let you know they are feeling better and to thank you for your help.
Working as a volunteer with Doctors of the World has been one of my dreams since I was young and I'm planning to volunteer as much as I can, maybe for the rest of my life?"
Joy is working as a Case Support Worker and first point of contact for service users who attend Project London clinic:
"I offer a calm, friendly and supportive environment for service users. I help support vulnerable people needing access healthcare services by advocating on their behalf to get them register with a doctor. I also use my social work studies to explore whether they need access to other services as DOW UK has a wealth of links with many organisations.
Volunteering your time to support vulnerable people is very rewarding. We meet and speak to some really vulnerable people on a daily basis, so just being able to talk or offer support can go a long way to giving them hope. Most people we see, do not understand the healthcare system, so we act as an advocate to stop any forms of discrimination they may be facing and we inform them on what their rights are."
Deji also works as a Case Support Worker at Project:London as part of his social work degree course:
"I advocate on service user's behalf to register with a GP. I also follow up with some of the service users that are really vulnerable and ensure they are doing well. By volunteering with DOW we are giving the most vulnerable people in the community a voice and empowering them to access health care."
Dr Paquita de Zulueta qualified as a GP in 1979 and has been working as a GP for 26 years. Since then, Paquita has worked with vulnerable groups who find access to healthcare difficult.
"I work as a doctor in the clinic but after the clinic finishes I often make calls to advocate on behalf of the people I've seen. They have often not seen a doctor for a very long time so they've stored up problems for a long time. Sometimes I feel so frustrated by all the administrative and bureaucratic barriers that stop people getting primary care when they desperately need it. I find it difficult to get a patient registered or seen by a GP sometimes. I often wonder what the patient would do without help since often English is not their first language and they don't understand the system in the way a medical person might know it. I do find it distressing seeing patients who are very ill or in need of urgent care but whose clinical needs are being ignored."
To read Paquita's British Medical Journal article on her experiences at Project:London visit the DOW Frontline Diaries blog
