A London pharmacist has encouraged members of the profession to help the homeless this Christmas by volunteering for the charity Crisis.

The charity will be providing accommodation to more than 590 people who would otherwise be sleeping rough in London this Christmas, as well as opening three-day centres for hundreds of people stuck in insecure accommodation such as hostels and B&Bs.

Volunteer pharmacists will be working as part of multidisciplinary teams, including doctors, eyecare professionals and physiotherapists, to provide health advice and treatment to guests at Crisis’ London-based services.

Shilpa Shah, chief executive of Community Pharmacy North East London, is volunteering for the charity for the 10th year running. ‘It’s something I really enjoy doing for so many reasons,’ she said.

According to Ms Shah, one of the most enjoyable aspects of volunteering at Crisis is the lack of obstacles to collaborative working.

‘I like that the healthcare team at Crisis are agile and can make change without all the red tape we often see in our day jobs,’ she explained.

‘Everybody has an opportunity to share ideas with their team leader of how we could do things differently the following year, and we have a debrief in early January to share these ideas.

‘I wish every day were like this in the NHS and that change was as easy and fluid as it is at Crisis,’ she added.

In Ms Shah’s experience, many homeless people are not aware that they can register with a GP as a rough sleeper.

‘We help them by giving them that information as well as the confidence to ask for help,’ she explained.

‘Some service users haven’t accessed healthcare services at all and come in with all sorts of ailments. We can spend as long as we want with someone, and we all work together to help the service user.’

According to Ms Shah, the personal connections she makes are ample reward for her efforts. ‘I get so much back from volunteering,’ she said.

‘One year the service users had gone to an Arsenal football match, with the trip organised by Crisis, and I mentioned to one that a family member of mine loves Arsenal and he tried to give me an Arsenal keyring that he had been given.

‘The humbleness of someone who doesn’t have much at all being so generous was so moving and that’s essentially what Christmas should be about – being kind and giving to others.’

Ms Shah said she would recommend volunteering at Crisis to any healthcare worker.

‘At a time like Christmas, when everyone feels slightly stressed and frazzled, volunteering really makes you think about the things that truly matter,’ she added.

The charity has advised it needs pharmacists to volunteer at its London-based services. More information on how to volunteer can be found at the Crisis website.

It is estimated that Crisis will be supporting more than 7,000 people experiencing homelessness this year.