Focused discussion held on Wednesday 10 August 2022

Better understanding of volunteer support in the ambulance service

As a topic of increasing interest this open discussion session was well represented with guests from Ambulance Trusts and Charities as well as other Trusts all keen to discuss how volunteers can help to alleviate the pressures being felt by staff on all sides.

There is so much potential to create well-designed volunteer roles to improve links between acute and community trusts, ambulance trusts and community support organisations and this was the focus for the discussion. Here are a couple of examples:

Volunteers bridging the care gap, supporting swift handovers and allowing crews and drivers to get back out in a timely manner to attend the next patient:

• Between ambulance arrival and the transfer of the patient to the care of the emergency department team, for example providing reassurance for the patient and support with hydration.

• Between patient transport or ambulance arrival, supporting the safe transfer of the patient to the correct department for their appointment and back to the care of the transport provider for their return home.

Welfare volunteers looking after the ambulance crews:

• Welfare volunteers and vehicles at the entrances of A&E provide drinks and snacks, allowing crews to have a break and a chat away from the ambulance. This is already in place at South Central Ambulance Charity where transit vans are kitted out with refreshment facilities and a place to relax.

There is so much more to discuss and we will be following up with further network activities to support collaborative working around this important topic.