Things at the hospital had changed considerably since we first started sending volunteers there. General living conditions on the wards have improved and the hospital have become more selective about who they accept as a volunteer and what tasks volunteers do and don't carry out. With Romania joining the EU in 2007, hospital policies and regulations became more stringent again in line with EU legislation. Although the role of the volunteer had adapted with these changes, the overall work of the charity needed to change with it.

With the tightening of hospital policies came a request from the hospital that our volunteers be supervised and managed by a full time member of staff in order to ensure that work in the clubroom complies with legislation and that a consistent service is offered to the patients.

VfMH decided that in order for the project to continue successfully, we needed to recruit a full time volunteer co-ordinator; a local person with a professional background in healthcare and experience of working with people who use mental health services. 

VfMH decided to work together with the hospital and Pro Vobis, the Romanian National Resource Centre for Volunteering, in order to recruit and train such a person.

After over three years of work, several changes of hospital management, and a few set-backs along the way, we were all delighted to welcome Corina Olariu, our new co-ordinator who joined our team in 2010.