Public sector leaders meet to ‘Reimagine Healthcare Volunteering’

A Helpforce-led gathering of over 80 leaders from across the NHS, government, and the voluntary and community sectors, marked a milestone in the evolution of healthcare volunteering.

February 5th's event at the House of Commons - hosted on behalf of the charity by Anna Dixon MP - heard how volunteers are already having a transformational impact across the NHS and community services, with huge potential to go “further and faster".

Distinguished guest speakers outlined how volunteering can no longer be viewed as a ‘nice to have’ and should instead be recognised as a strategic lever for addressing acute NHS workforce shortages, productivity gaps, and widening health inequalities.Meanwhile, delegates explored volunteering’s potential within the rollout of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan – delivering large-scale, measurable impact across neighbourhood health and digital transformation.

Underpinning the event was the publication of a new landmark report from Helpforce: ‘Reimagining Healthcare Volunteering’. Including a foreword from NHS England CEO Sir Jim Mackey, it outlines how NHS productivity can be boosted through intelligently designed initiatives that improve patient flow, reduce missed appointments, and bolster sickness prevention. The report urges NHS leaders and local authorities to commit to a step-change in integrating volunteering into healthcare through:

• Supporting Helpforce’s alliance with leading social enterprise consultancy PPL to bring together healthcare volunteering experts, social enterprise specialists, NHS executives, voluntary sector leaders, and digital innovators, to strengthen civil society’s role in neighbourhood health.

• Investing sustainably through ring-fenced ICS and trust-level volunteering funding

• Embedding volunteering in workforce and digital transformation strategies

• Targeting inclusive recruitment to widen participation

Keynote speaker at the event, London’s Chief Nurse Karen Bonner MBE, said:

“Over three decades in the NHS, I’ve seen remarkable progress — better treatments, earlier diagnoses, longer lives. But I have also seen pressure rise year on year. We care for an ageing population with increasingly complex needs. We face widening inequalities, workforce shortages, and financial strain. Our colleagues give everything they have, often more than they should.

“That is why I speak about volunteering with conviction. Not out of sentiment, but out of experience. Volunteers do not replace clinical staff — they strengthen and support them.

“Today, more than 71,800 volunteers across NHS trusts give 6.4 million hours each year. That is not a “nice to have.” That is capacity, compassion, and impact.

Helpforce’s evidence shows that 86% of staff believe volunteers improve the quality of care they can provide.

“Volunteers reduce pressure, offer connection, and allow clinicians to focus on the work that requires their expertise.

“For that reason, I encourage leaders to see volunteering as part of our infrastructure, rather than something optional or additional.”

Amerjit Chohan, Helpforce CEO, concluded:

“Volunteering should be recognised as a strategic part of the NHS’s future – and embedded in its 10-Year Health Plan.

“It is genuinely encouraging to see our vision taking shape. Volunteers are set to play a meaningful role in the shift from hospital to community, and the Government has described their contribution to new Neighbourhood Health Centres as “pivotal”. This matters. It signals that volunteering is no longer at the margins of our healthcare system and is moving closer to its heart.

“And that is why today we are making the case for something bigger. We are calling for the NHS, government, and civil society to reimagine healthcare volunteering.

“Volunteers are skilled, compassionate, and deeply committed. Every day, they give their time to make life better for someone else. But they cannot deliver large-scale change on their own.

“They need infrastructure, investment, and leadership. We hope that by launching our new report, it will provide healthcare and VCSE sectors leaders with a blueprint to develop ‘Volunteering 2.0’ - a framework to fully integrate volunteers into healthcare delivery; connected to strategic priorities, equipped with digital tools, and their contribution measured against outcomes that matter.”

Report – Reimagining Healthcare Volunteering can be downloaded here.