Lunch club volunteer role specific training

Training 2: volunteering safely (3 minute read)

This module looks at how to ensure the lunch club is run safely for older people.

Re-engage’s lunch club is in the same location each week - The United Free Church, Crosby Rd N, Waterloo, Liverpool L22 0LQ and we have chosen the location with the comfort and safety of the older people who attend.

The lunch club

During the lunch club itself, your role will be to chat with everyone, initiating conversations that focus on the older people themselves and gently encouraging people to come out of their shell if they seem uncertain. Your help will also be very much appreciated by the lunch club volunteers when it comes to serving the food and drinks and helping to clear up afterwards.

As Re-engage staff and volunteers, we all have a responsibility to look out for each other’s health and safety. Many older people have mobility issues and may be more at risk of accidents.

To help keep everyone safe at the lunch club, please keep an eye out for the following health and safety concerns:

• Trip hazards, such as people’s bags or the edge of a rug.
• Slip hazards, such as spilled drinks or a recently mopped floor.
• Burning or scalding risks, such as an older person leaning to pick up a mug of hot tea which might be too heavy for them.

If you see any potential hazards during the lunch club, please alert the rest of the group and support the lunch club coordinator to mitigate any risks (for example, by helping to move objects that someone might trip over into another room).

Location and local parking arrangements

The lunch club venue has a small car park at the front, which must accommodate the minibus and taxis pulling in to drop off and collect older people and other volunteers.

Please be mindful when parking in the car park that you're not blocking the entrance or obstructing the church door.

Getting into the lunch club

We check with all the older people who attend that they are able to safely manage the three steps into the lunch club venue.

Getting to the toilet

The lunch club has accessible facilities, and all older people are able to easily access the facilities.

Trips and slips

Before the lunch club starts it’s important that the lunch club volunteers check the lunch club venue to ensure that all trip and slip hazards have been removed. Some examples of these hazards can be loose rugs, trailing wires, loose tiles, wobbly tables, or other things that might cause people to trip or cause accidents.

Seating

Older people can sometimes find it difficult to get in and out of armchairs and sofas, so the lunch club offers a variety of seating options for the older people.

Ventilation

The lunch club has adequate ventilation.

Lighting

The lunch club has adequate lighting.

Smoking

All Re-engage events are non-smoking and the lunch club is no exception.

Food safety and dietary / allergy considerations

Please make sure prior to serving any older people at the lunch club that you’ve checked with the lunch club coordinator whether anyone has a special dietary requirement. In the next training section this topic will be explained more in detail.

Pets

Pets are not allowed at the lunch club.

Reducing the risks

If you would like to learn more about safety, the charity Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has lots of helpful advice on their website.