Health volunteering programme inspired by Covid response hits ‘Million People Supported’ milestone

Over 100 NHS and community organisations have partnered with national charity Helpforce

A BOLD healthcare scheme harnessing the power of over 77,000 volunteers from all walks of life has supported more than one million people, helping bolster an NHS in crisis.

The ‘Back to Health’ programme - led by national charity Helpforce in partnership with 102 NHS and community organisations - was established in 2022 to create high-impact volunteering opportunities to improve support in hospitals, communities, and people’s own homes.

Recognising serious gaps in service provision due to overstretched healthcare budgets and workforce shortages, it sought to capitalise on the spotlight shone on volunteering during the Covid pandemic.

By appealing to an army of volunteers to pitch-in with evidence-led initiatives moulded around the pillars of ‘wating well’, getting well’, ‘recovering well’ and living well’, Helpforce has now supported 815,300 patients, 130,000 healthcare professionals, and 77,300 volunteers.

And ‘Back to Health’ has measurably improved patient wellbeing while positively impacting NHS staff morale and productivity, with:

• 87% of staff reporting that volunteers improved the quality of care they were are able to provide 

• 92% of patients agreeing that volunteers improved their sense of wellbeing 

• 84% of patients believing that volunteers helped them to feel less anxious, aiding their recovery

Across organisations – including some of the UK’s biggest NHS trusts – volunteers have undertaken a range of duties including helping people to attend hospital appointments, assisting vulnerable patients to eat and drink, encouraging individuals to improve their mobility, and supporting those in recovery with prescribed physiotherapy exercises.

Helpforce Chief Executive, Amerjit Chohan, said: “Lord Darzi’s review of the NHS last year diagnosed a health service in crisis, with patients struggling to access treatment, quality of care having receded, and falling productivity. Getting healthcare back on its feet will require monumental system-level improvement, but volunteering has a role to play – and a significant one at that.

“So many people stepped forward to volunteer during the pandemic and it lit a fuse among a general public who were eager to do their bit. Through our Back to Health programme, we’ve been able to reignite that fuse and get people to step-up again to be part of large-scale, high-impact volunteering programmes that deliver solutions to some of the biggest issues facing healthcare.

“Without these programmes, it’s likely that NHS waiting lists over the past three years would have been even longer, hospital re-admission rates would have been higher, and morale among the healthcare workforce would have been lower.”

Helpforce has been calling for healthcare volunteering to be an integral part of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan – expected to be published this week – insisting that tens of thousands more people can be enticed into donating their time and skills to help rebuild the health service and relieve pressure on burned-out staff by taking on non-clinical tasks.

One example is a ‘falls prevention’ initiative that has been adopted by multiple NHS trusts. When patients are discharged from hospital and return to their homes after surgery or treatment, they are often vulnerable - especially those living alone. Susceptibility to falls is a major issue, with incidents not only causing suffering and distress to those affected, but hospital readmissions placing a major strain on over-stretched ambulance services, A&E departments and wards. The total annual cost of fragility fractures to the UK has been estimated at £4.4 billioni and studies have indicated that a tailored exercise programme can decrease falls in the over-65s by 54%ii. Helpforce has demonstrated that with specialist training and supervision, volunteers can support discharged patients with rehabilitation exercises in their own homes, freeing-up physiotherapists’ resource.

Elsewhere, volunteer-run ‘mealtime companion’ schemes are having an impact at scale, such as one operated by the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust in Greater Manchester. There, scores of dedicated volunteers carefully encourage and help vulnerable hospital patients to eat and drink – ensuring they get the right sustenance and hydration to aid their recovery. A 25% increase in the number of patients feeling they had sufficient eating support was recorded.

A further example involves ‘Response Volunteers’ who undertake a range of tasks to improve hospital efficiency and speed-up patient discharge, including collecting and delivering patient blood samples, medications and equipment, as well as supporting nurses with general housekeeping duties. Multiple NHS trusts recorded impressive results – such as George Eliot NHS Trust in the East Midlands which saw dozens of volunteers collectively contribute the equivalent of 111 working weeks over the period of a year.

Glen Burley, Chief Executive of the Foundation Group collaborative, which involves four NHS Trusts including George Eliot, said: “Having an established volunteering team means that volunteers are able to anticipate clinicians’ and patients’ needs and know how they can help the department run smoothly. Our clinicians understand, trust, and appreciate the volunteers’ role. I’m proud to champion volunteering services – not as a ‘nice to have’, but as an integral part of modern healthcare delivery.

“Helpforce is doing excellent work to help the NHS and community partners grow and nurture their own volunteering programmes and increase the influence these have within organisations.”

Helpforce’s Back to Health campaign has also had a significant positive on the 77,300 healthcare volunteers – ranging in age from 18 to 88 - who have given selflessly of their time. Ninety per cent of volunteers said that they gained a sense of purpose, while 71 per cent volunteering helped increase their confidence.

In recognition of the impact of Back to Health, Helpforce was recently awarded a GSK Impact Award - a sought-after accolade for healthcare charities in the UK, run in conjunction with respected think-tank The King’s Fund.

Lisa Weaks, Senior Associate at The King’s Fund, said: “At a time when the NHS is severely stretched and tackling chronic workforce shortages, Helpforce’s tailored and innovative work plays a pivotal role in the delivery of patient care across the country. By not just setting up volunteering schemes, but ensuring health and care organisations have the skills and capacity they need to sustain them, they have a lasting impact on each organisation they work with.”

Helpforce’s Back to Health programme has received funding from the Burdett Trust for Nursing, Oak Foundation, John Armitage Charitable Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation and Peacock Charitable Trust.

Professor Clare Cable, Chief Executive of the Burdett Trust for Nursing, said: “The scale and reach of ‘Back to Health’ has been hugely impressive and it illustrates the phenomenal appetite for healthcare volunteering that exists among the general public. Expertly designed volunteering programmes can have a hugely positive impact on the NHS workforce in terms of freeing up staff to focus on the vital clinical interventions that they are trained to perform.”

Ends

For further information, please contact:

Martin McGlown, Head of Communications at Helpforce, on 07737 722643 MM@helpforce.community; or

Vy Tran, Helpforce Communications and Content Manager, on 07508 772844 vt@helpforce.community

Notes to Editors:

Helpforce is the only independent UK charity focused exclusively on establishing high impact volunteering services across the health system.

Its team of experts:

• Co-create innovative solutions with health and care organisations.

• Enable organisations to maximise the potential of volunteering to improve outcomes for people and services.

• Connect the people leading volunteers to improve quality together.

Founded in 2017, the charity works with NHS trusts, hospices, local authorities, and voluntary and community organisations – directly and indirectly supporting hundreds of thousands of people.

Helpforce was recently awarded a GSK IMPACT Award, a prestigious national health award for small and medium sized charities delivered in partnership with The King’s Fund, in recognition of programmes including Volunteer to Career.