Helpforce Champions 2023 Finalist - Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust

Nominated for Celebrating Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in Volunteering (ED&I Award) 2023

Video entry

In the past 12 months Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust have recruited 100 volunteers and (at the time of sending in their entry) have 40 currently in the recruitment process. Out of these 27% are of ethnic backgrounds and 17% have said they either have a disability or are living with a lifelong health condition that effects their ability to carry out daily activities.

They currently have 10 active volunteers with a disability/SEN assigned to 6 different roles – post room, volunteer responder, Meet & Greet, Little Woollens charity shop, ANC and Pharmacy Runs. They engage with staff experienced with working with SEN or who have family members with disabilities to support the inclusion of volunteers with disabilities and SEN at the hospital. Working with these staff and the trust's EDI they create volunteering roles, adapt their policies and procedures to ensure volunteers with disabilities and SEN have access to fulfilling volunteering opportunities at the hospital.

Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust also work with external organisations that support people with disabilities and SEN, they listen, learn and act on the recommendations. They have a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) in place so that the support workers they provide, can support the volunteers during their volunteering at the hospital.

Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust listened, learned from their volunteers with disabilities and acted to remove challenges and barriers that they face.

Example: they listened to Barbara, a transgender volunteer with SEN, and worked with the local transgender group to provide an Everyone toilet at the hospital. The volunteers also support the annual PLACE Assessments. Their feedback and guidance are vitally important to improve the facilities and the estate for service users with disabilities/SEN. They provide 1:1 support with the onboarding process or provide a personal experience via the volunteer service rather than the Recruitment Team on TRAC.

Mandatory training for volunteers who do not have capacity to understand or complete the training do not have to do it. Instead their support worker completes the training on their behalf, whilst Volunteers with mild SEN are given support by the Volunteer Team. Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust’s aim is to convert all volunteer training and literature to Easy Read.

New volunteers are given extra support during shifts from volunteer buddies or members of staff. That support is maintained until the volunteer feels confident. From 2003 to 2022 volunteers with disabilities and SEN have given a total of 32354 hrs which is equivalent to almost 17 staff. Almost 10% of the volunteers have disclosed a disability, however based on knowledge they know realistically that this is over 20% which brings them more in line with the national data that 1 in 4 people have a disability.

Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust are currently completing a data cleanse where they outline the long-term health conditions that are classed as a disability under the Equality Act. Volunteers with disabilities and SEN are a dedicated group of volunteers. Six of the volunteers have achieved 5 years’ service, nine haven given 10 years’ service and four provided 15 years. The longest serving volunteer to date is Michael with 20 years’ service this year (2023).

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