The Royal Rover is the Royal Oldham Hospital’s bus service that helps transport our patients and service users to their appointments on site.
With the hospital being spread over a wide area, for those services users that have limited mobility or are simply running late, the Royal Rover gets you there on time. The Royal Rover is a familiar sight across the hospital and funded through charitable donations and run with the support of volunteers.
We are currently looking for volunteers for our Royal Rover with responsibilities including the driving of the vehicle to pick up and drop of service users, carrying out safety checks and helping our passengers with any requests they may have.
Steve Swinton has been a volunteer for more than 2 years joining after a successful career as a contracted driving instructor for Northwest Ambulance Service (NWAS). He said: “Every day is different, and you meet some great people as you are driving around the hospital. Being at the hospital can be a daunting experience with conversation going a long way to make people feel at ease. Our small team of volunteers make sure our patients get to their appointments on time by helping those that are unable to walk distances or have other personal circumstances.
“I really enjoy being a volunteer and would recommend being part of our friendly Royal Rover team.”
To be a volunteer you will need a clean driving license and be physically active. We have no age limit and welcome volunteers that are in their retirement. We ask for a commitment of at least 4 hours a week.
To find out more, visit our Volunteers page or mail volunteer@nca.nhs.uk