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I am honoured and excited to be joining the team at PCNSW as Program Manager, Volunteer Support Services.

I have just landed at my new desk today after attending the 2019 NSW Palliative Care Volunteer Conference last week. I am glad that I was able to meet with some of the dedicated volunteers and volunteer managers at the conference and I was impressed with the presentations.

Having worked in Government and non-government organisations including ACON, MS Australia and St John Ambulance Australia (NSW), I have always admired the work of volunteers in the palliative care setting.

In an earlier part of my career I was recruiting and training carers inside the Community Support Network program to assist people living with HIV. The pandemic had changed by then and although there was less of a focus on palliative care, many were still struggling or dealing with associated terminal conditions.

Fast-forward to 2019 and I am reflecting on the last four years with Northern Sydney LHD and South Eastern Sydney LHD across a number of roles in Sydney hospitals including Manager Community Engagement at The Sutherland Hospital. Volunteers’ management and engagement has been my passion and often included coordinating volunteers that were bravely facing end of life care duties such as assistance in oncology wards and community care.

I now enter this space inspired but the work of others and I am looking forward to learning from and hopefully, being a part of providing service to those that play a vital role in today’s palliative care environments.

Please feel free to get in touch with me at any stage; my new email will be [email protected]

Colin Dent