The St John Hospital Friends programme is due to begin at Gore Hospital in August. The service is a non-clinical friendship and support service for hospital patients.
Gore Health chief executive Karl Metzler said the organisation behind Gore Hospital felt ''very privileged'' to be partnering St John in such a worthwhile, patient-centred initiative.
''Gore Health enjoys a strong working relationship with the local St John team and this initiative will, no doubt, further strengthen that partnership.''
He said he also had no doubts the programme would be well supported and received by the community, patients and staff.
St John South Island community care manager Pam Hall said Hospital Friends was one of St John's best-loved volunteer programmes.
''When patients are in hospital for lengthy stays, having friendly faces around can make their stay happier and provide company when friends and family may not be available. Hospital Friends provide someone to sit and talk to, to read with or to just be around, so people aren't alone.''
Mrs Hall said the new service in Gore would run seven days a week. One volunteer would cover one four-hour shift per day at the hospital.
''Hospital Friends is a non-clinical service. Our volunteers do not get involved in patient care or treatment. However, we find that just be being there and being available for patients to talk to makes a huge difference to people who are in hospital.''
St John was recruiting volunteers for the new service, and all Hospital Friends received full training and support, Mrs Hall said.
Hospital Friends is part of St John's Hospital Volunteers programme, which began at Auckland's North Shore Hospital in 2001 with Friends of the Emergency Department.
Since then, the programme has grown and extended to provide services in other hospital departments including Hospital Friends - the service that will run at Gore Hospital.
There are now more than 800 St John Hospital Volunteers in 25 hospitals across New Zealand, including in services in Dunedin, Timaru, Oamaru and Invercargill.
The Hospital Friends programme in the South Island is sponsored by the Foodstuffs South Island Community Trust.
• Anyone interested in volunteering as a St John Hospital Friend at Gore Hospital, can contact Vicki Kelly at St John Gore (03) 208-6617.
