Does anyone volunteer for the NHS?

[Westenra]

I would like to have a regular volunteering commitment, preferably not in a small group but somewhere stable

I see a lot of NHS trusts advertise for volunteers to help with things like meet and greet, patient befriending and mealtime help, sometimes shops and trolleys, chatting with people on wards or even A+E.

This kind of thing though every hospital has a different range
https://www.uhbristol.nhs.uk/work-for-us/volunteering/

Does anyone here do these things and feel that they are making a useful contribution? I've never noticed them in hospitals, but I suppose I haven't been very vulnerable there. I'd be really interested in any thoughts or experiences.

Following

I've noticed a lot of people who stand in the corridors and help you find where you're going in hospitals. They usually wear some kind of tabard thing, I'm pretty sure they're volunteers.

Yes they are massively important, make a huge difference to scared and lonely patients - please do reach out to your local hospital

volunteers are so valued in the NHS

At my local hospital this is called PALS. Patient Liaison service. They are all volunteers. I think PALS is a fairly commonly used acronym, maybe google it for your local hospital.

My hometown hospital has a little gift shop run by volunteers near the front entrance. They sell old-school, hand-knitted baby clothes and accessories that the volunteers make themselves. Then when DC3 spent some time in the NICU, one of those ladies came up and brought me a little care package that contained the most beautiful hand-knitted hat and cardigan for DD. She told me they gift one of those packs to every NICU baby 🥹
I can knit, so while I was on maternity leave, I knitted a mountain of tiny baby hats and donated them to the NICU gift bags.
Tiny contribution on my part, but it was such a lovely gesture that I really appreciated when DD was in there.

I tried to a few years ago but they failed to attach the form to an email a handful of times so I didn’t pursue it as I felt awkward saying they have attached it over and over.

They ask people to volunteer for alsorts of roles from dining companions to assisting the odd jobs on the wards and I would like to do it one day.

That’s completely different. Pals deals with complaints etc.

We have the league of friends who run a small cafe and shop. We also have volunteers who meet greet and help with directions. Admin volunteers who help put letters in envelopes. We have a couple of play volunteers who play games and read to the children on the wards. We also have a group who can help deliver equipment home such as walking frames or deliver a box of food so patients have some in when they arrive home. They can also arrange for patients to have items of clothing. Some patients have no one to bring them in anything from home to wear in hospital or to wear home.

Don't know if it's just my experience,be prepared for a wait I applied in the beginning of April I think the DBs check can take a while.

Some of the roles are being used to replace previously paid jobs with volunteers. As well as meet and greeters by reception and in outpatient areas like xray, running a coffee kiosk, hospital radio, charity fundraising, visiting wards with books, magazines and making tea/coffee, there are more department based roles like clerical work or filing. Be prepared for delays in the recruitment process, form filling, needing referees, dbs, online training for safeguarding, gdpr, health questionnaire and so on.

Thanks, everyone. This is really good information.

I'd have mixed feelings about taking on work that had previously been paid, and I should have guessed there'd be long bureaucratic delays, but otherwise, sounds good ...