Anthony Haynes, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (BMBS), is a First Responder for Plymouth Night Patrol (PNP) and was the Volunteer Scheme Manager for PNP during the 2023/24 academic year.

Plymouth Night Patrol are a group of volunteer students who are trained to provide welfare and medical support to students and citizens both on campus and across the wider city of Plymouth. The team’s dedication to safeguarding their peers and the local community, including promoting safe behaviour on nights out and early intervention, has been invaluable. Over the last three years, they have helped support hundreds of students who may be vulnerable and prevented members of public from becoming victims of crime. PNP collaborate with the local police and other health services, working in partnership to help make Plymouth a safe place during the night-time economy.

As a key member of PNP, Anthony has been part of a team of volunteer students who covered this year’s biggest Students’ Union (SU) events, including the Summer Ball--the biggest SU night of the year with nearly 4500 students attending--helping to support any student in need of welfare assistance and first-aid. Although his academic commitments meant Anthony was unable to attend this year’s Varsity—a sporting competition between Team Plymouth and Marjon University with 21 fixtures involving 500+ students--he was still part of helping to organise the coverage and ensure PNP members were present at each fixture.

Anthony describes his level of involvement with SU events as “really rewarding” and something he hopes to continue to do as he progresses through university. Anthony recalls one of his favourite memories being when PNP covered the Summer Ball for the first time: “the amount of support that we received, and the gratitude, it was so lovely; it was a lovely experience to be part of.” 

As well as his role in PNP, Anthony is also a member of the Medical Society (MedSoc), which allows him to network and collaborate with a diversity of medical students at the University beyond those in his specific course.

It's about being part of that community of medical students and being able to give to that next generation; we organise loads of events and talks. I dealt a lot with the health and safety side of MedSoc, which naturally translated from a very health and safety volunteering scheme with PNP across to another society.

Over the last few years, Anthony has been heavily engaged with the SU and has worked closely with many SU staff members. Anthony describes his relationship with the SU as extremely positive, emphasising appreciation of their communication and encouragement, as well as giving credit to staff members who have helped to support PNP with their goals.

My favourite thing about the SU is the fact they are so supportive of what you want to do. We presented them with a plan of ‘this is what we want to do with Plymouth Night Patrol, this is how we want to help the community’ and it is never a case of them saying ‘well, there is this barrier and that barrier’, it is always a case of ‘how can we make that happen, how can we support you?’ They really treat you like equals.

With so much of their vision having now come to fruition, PNP has evolved to become a self-sustaining, autonomous student-led scheme. In the last three years, they have gone from 12 to 80+ members who not only support SU events but external organisations too, working alongside other services such as the police, fire services, and the City Council. Although their achievements have been driven by student-led initiatives, Anthony still commemorates the SU for not only providing a space for the student group to establish but also for being a catalyst for its expansion, and by extension, the opportunities and experiences that Anthony is grateful for. 

If it wasn’t for the SU, Plymouth Night Patrol wouldn’t have existed and I wouldn’t have been able to contribute to the community and engaged with the police, NHS and a variety of different organisations. I am more than thankful for that.

PNP’s achievements and services to not only to the student community but also to the public as well have been acknowledged in a recent BBC radio interview which included Anthony and another member of PNP, Wilf Wright. In the interview, Anthony and Wilf were able to share how PNP were commended for their safeguarding of the local community and the vital work they do as partners of Devon & Cornwall Police: “For each individual member of Plymouth Night Patrol, it was nice and rewarding to know how valued they are in the community that is Plymouth.”

  Listen to the BBC radio interview

Beyond his involvement with societies and his dedication to safeguarding his peers, Anthony expresses how the SU has facilitated a lot of fun memories during his time in Plymouth through the diversity of events and activities available, which have allowed him to feel part of the wider student community. This has included attending trips organised through the Give It A Go scheme as well as attending many social nights at the SU.

It is a very central community hub. The SU run a variety of different events, for example, getting students to play music, celebrating different cultures, and to me that’s what university is, it is all of that community base and cultures coming together.

Anthony speaks passionately about how the SU is able to successfully support student groups and schemes, whether that is directly through guidance and advice or indirectly by providing opportunities for student groups to get together in a shared space to socialise, form connections, and learn from each other.

Through MedSoc, they [the SU] are supporting the next generation of medical students, and any society really, they are supporting those communities and bringing them together under that umbrella.

Photos: Anthony at the Best Bar None Awards 2023 (read more here).

Looking to the future, Anthony is confident that his engagement with the SU, particularly through PNP, has provided him with a unique foundation of experience and set of skills that he is confident will accelerate his career after graduating.

Through the work I have done through Plymouth Night Patrol, it is really going to support my future. It has helped me get an understanding of the local community, health code experience in regard to working with a variety of different organisations and understanding the legal side. [..] Without the SU, I wouldn’t have had that opportunity.

Anthony’s advice to anyone who has not yet engaged with the SU…

“I think my best advice would be engage with the SU – just do it. 

You will eventually find the right thing for you; have a look on the student group page, find something that you are interested in and give it a go, and if you give it a go and don’t like it, that’s okay; there will be something out there that you will really enjoy.”