Heartbeat: It’s centre stage at national event for our volunteer service

August 20, 2019

Our volunteer service was at the heart of a recent national event hosted at City Hospital by Helpforce, a charity committed to creating a better future in health and care through the power of volunteering.

Trusts from across England gathered to participate and share ideas on how to improve patient experience through volunteers. With Manchester University NHS Foundation, South West Yorkshire and Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trusts being some of the many trusts that attended.

Sally Williams, Learning Network Manager at Helpforce, told us: “The purpose of today’s event was to bring trusts and volunteer service managers together to share their success stories, challenges and to see how they can help one another.

“We definitely achieved the desired outcome, with representatives from the trusts having the opportunity to network with one another. Everyone engaged in conversation and activities on how best to improve their volunteer service. We would like to thank the volunteer team at SWB for their wonderful hospitality. They looked after us so well and made each of us feel so welcome.”

We are one of twelve pilot trusts selected by Helpforce to recruit volunteers specifically for the mobility role, which allows patients to maintain existing levels of mobility and independence. This is by encouraging them to walk or engage in safe exercises.

Jonathan Maddison, Volunteer Service Project Manager was asked what he hoped to gain from the event. He told us: “I appreciated the fact that we were meeting managers from other trusts and educating ourselves on what they do for their volunteers, along with how to ensure good practice in volunteer management. It was a learning curve and opportunity to connect with those who are in similar positions to us in terms of managing volunteers. It was an informative event.”