THE manager of a vital volunteer service in Irvine has put out a desperate call for support.

Fiona McDowell is the manager of the volunteer shop at irvine's Woodland View Hospital - a specialist mental health facility.

Woodland View, which opened in 2016, also provides rehabilitation for elderly prior to their discharge, while care packages are arranged for their own home.

The volunteer shop within this was launched a couple of years after the facility opened.

These were set up by the same person who manages similar stores set up with Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, before Fiona took over in early 2020.

Speaking to the Times, Fiona explained the exact role the shop, of which she is the only paid member of staff, plays within the hopital's community.

She said: “It’s essential items and snacks as well as a small gift range. It’s for the patients, staff and visitors and all profits go back to the hospital.

“They can’t use that money for essential items like PPE – they’ve got to use it for non-essential items.

“In previous years we’ve bought digital radios, art materials, gardening materials, garden benches. Things like that which the hospital doesn’t have a budget for.”

Since being set up around five years ago, the shop has handed over more than £40,000 to the hospital, with £15,000 handed over to the hospital board only a few weeks ago.

When the hospital board meet, they then decide what the money can be spent on and anyone can apply for it from within Woodland View.

Fiona explained how vital these items are for patients in the hospital.

She commented: “Hospitals are working with massive budget cuts, so there isn’t any money for these things.

“You might think, ‘what does a couple of colouring books matter’, but it all mounts up. That’s where we come in.”

While it's not only these types of items the shop supplies, with another vital iniative recently launched by Fiona and her team of volunteers.

People can be emergency admitted to Woodland View - and they’re not allowed outside for a period of time after this.

It left those patients coming into the facility with little to no essential supplies - which the hospital does not have a budget to provide.

Fiona found that a lot of nursing staff were paying for these out of their own wages at times.

So the volunteer shop decided to set up a fund which provides packs for emergency admissions with items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant and shower gel provided.

From our brief visit to the shop, it was clear to the Times how vital this small shop is to the hospital and its patients and staff.

However, what they can offer is currently under sever pressure.

Fiona explained: “Because of Covid we were closed for three months solid.

“When we opened up again we had such strict rules. We weren’t allowed anybody over 70 to work, we couldn’t have anybody working here with any medical ailments.

“As you can imagine volunteers tend to be retired people so you had a real low pool of people to work from – it was a nightmare – but we managed and we still made a profit.

“But now that we’re more or less back to normal, we are really short of volunteers because a lot of our volunteers decided they were too frightened.

“They got into the habit of being in the house, they lost confidence in mixing, using tills and stuff like that. We are desperately short of volunteers, as I’m sure a lot of voluntary organisations are.

“But if we don’t have the volunteers, we can’t open. I’m hoping people read this and think ‘I can do that’ and spare even just a couple of hours a week.”

Fiona also added that the shop can only open until 4.30pm midweek, and the afternoon on weekends.

She said she “would love to open up in the evening” but they simply do not have the volunteers.

So the Woodland View Volunteer Shop needs your help. Do you think you could spare a few hours?

If so, you can reach out to Fiona on fiona.mcdowell@aapct.scot.nhs.uk or by calling the shop on 01294 322340.