Coronavirus: App to connect Worthing’s NHS workers with support volunteers - ‘this is a way to do something tangible’

Lew Perren, a former professor at Brighton University, has produced an app that allows volunteers in Worthing to offer their services to NHS workers.

The Coronavirus crisis has seen a national surge in support for the NHS, such as the weekly ‘clap for carers’, but Lew, 60, said he wanted to give people a chance to go even further.

“We of course should have thought about NHS workers before, but it’s great to see society recognises how important the NHS is,” he said.

“The claps are great, but this is a way to do something tangible.”

Volunteers can sign up and outline what support they are happy to offer – such as shopping or collecting medication – and NHS workers can log on and select the most suitable, depending on their needs and post code.

It follows the NHS voluntary scheme that places members of the public in touch with vulnerable members of society – a campaign that has already seen 750,000 volunteers answer the call.

Lew wants to offer a similar service, but aimed specifically at NHS workers in Worthing who can easily become isolated working gruelling hours or anti-social shifts.

“Even NHS workers who don’t need the support have been saying thank you,” Lew said.

“It’s also just a way of showing that people are thinking of them. There’s a feeling of warmth about a society and community where people are willing to offer that help.”

Lew, who lives in Cissbury Drive in Worthing, said the app would be used to connect people initially, with pairs then free to communicate and organise separately.

Volunteers have the option to turn their accounts on and off depending on availability, so once a helper has connected and built a relationship with an NHS worker, they could continue to support them without the app.

The non-profit venture is the latest in countless community initiatives that have sprung up during the Coronavirus, as society rallies around the vulnerable and those most in need of support.

Acts of kindness are of course always cropping up all year round, but the pandemic has appeared to have fostered a more visible solidarity.

Lew hoped it was a sign of society taking a step in the right direction that could last beyond the current crisis.

“There are so many positives that can come out of this, that could change society, but we will see,” he said. “I’m hopeful.”

To sign up to the app, or for more information, visit: www.supportnhsworkers.org

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