Helpforce publishes 2025-26 Impact Report – highlighting healthcare volunteering’s growing influence

Helpforce has published its 2025-26 Impact Report, showcasing a year of significant progress in advancing healthcare volunteering and demonstrating the growing role volunteers are playing in supporting patients, staff and communities across the UK.

The report highlights the charity’s work with NHS trusts, hospices and community organisations on 74 volunteering initiatives that supported around 74,000 patients and involved more than 1,260 volunteers. It also outlines how the charity is helping to strengthen healthcare services through novel approaches to Neighbourhood Health, patient flow, workforce development and volunteering innovation.

Among the year’s key achievements was the formal recognition of volunteering within the NHS 10-Year Health Plan – a major milestone for the sector and one that reflects years of advocacy by Helpforce and its partners.

The report also details a year of growing external recognition for the charity, including winning a prestigious GSK Impact Award and an HSJ Partnership Award for its Volunteer to Career programme, which helps people gain experience and progress into healthcare employment.

Other highlights include:

• Showing that 87% of healthcare staff believe volunteers improve the quality of care they are able to provide

• Attracting more than £1.3 million in income to support healthcare volunteering programmes, and helping partner organisations secure £715,000 of additional investment in volunteer-led initiatives

• Strengthening the evidence base for volunteering, surpassing 500 documented outcomes

• Launching the landmark Reimagining Healthcare Volunteering report at the House of Commons

• Expanding the innovative Volunteer to Career programme, with more than half of participants progressing into paid healthcare roles or training

• Demonstrating £11.6 million in avoided NHS costs through Neighbourhood Health initiatives in Cornwall

The report emphasises Helpforce’s increasing focus on Neighbourhood Health and community-based care, including new partnerships and research designed to demonstrate how volunteers can help improve outcomes, tackle inequalities and support prevention closer to where people live.

Amerjit Chohan, Chief Executive of Helpforce, said:

"This report demonstrates the growing recognition that volunteering is not simply an additional resource for healthcare services, but a strategic asset that can help address some of the most pressing challenges facing the NHS and wider health system.

"We are incredibly grateful to our partners and funders - whose support enables us to continue building the evidence, influence and practical solutions needed to strengthen UK healthcare volunteering - as well as the approximately 100,000 volunteers who selflessly gift their time and talents for the benefit of others."

Read the full Helpforce Impact Report 2025-26 to learn more about the difference healthcare volunteering is making for patients, staff and communities.