What will I be doing?

Our volunteering roles are non-clinical and are mostly patient facing.  

To become a volunteer, you must be able to commit to volunteer regularly. We require a commitment of one shift per week for at least 6 months. Shifts are typically 3–4 hours long. All volunteers must initially be available to volunteer on working days (Monday to Friday, during the day time). Some roles are available in the evenings and weekends once volunteers are more experienced.

Typical volunteer roles

We recruit to different roles at different times of the year depending on where the need is greatest. The roles below are examples of the types of roles that we most often recruit to.

Responder: This is an active role where volunteers assist staff and patients in the hospital. Volunteers are given a radio and respond to a variety of tasks, such as welcoming visitors, helping with patient flow in outpatient clinics, giving directions, providing wheelchairs, delivering pharmacy medicine to wards, supporting the patient discharge process and conducting surveys. This is a varied and interesting role which provides insights into many different parts of the hospital. It involves frequently interacting with staff and patients. 

Ward Helper: The ward helper role provides patient contact and a good insight into and experience of working in a hospital. The main volunteer tasks are focussing on three areas in the patient experience pathway:

Patient Wellbeing – supporting patient engagement/chatting/ward introduction list/tv set up support/activities

Physical recovery – supporting meal times/moving where appropriate /physio exercise support

Patient Flow – supporting the patient discharge from the ward/the admissions of new patients/admission screening tool support/pharmacy collections/laboratory samples

The role provides the ward with an extra pair of hands, assisting with non-clinical tasks such as chatting to patients, supporting patients during meal times, making drinks and running errands like pharmacy runs for staff and patients or supporting patients getting ready for discharge.

Am I eligible to volunteer?

If you would like to become a volunteer you must be:

• 16 years or older
• Have the right to work in the UK
• Have an email address
• You must be able to commit to volunteer at least 1 shift per week for 6 months.

Please also consider the following before you register your interest:

• Do you have the time to give to volunteering consistently? Think carefully about how you might fit volunteering around your other commitments such as studying at school or college, caring for children or relatives, carrying out your paid job
• Are you happy and willing to engage with patients and visitors? It can be quite demanding and although we provide training and support, we know it isn’t for everyone
• These volunteering roles require self-motivation with an ability to think on your feet and work independently (you will not receive constant supervision)