Reducing operational pressures: Four organisations on track to launch new volunteering services within weeks

Helpforce is running free courses to help health and care organisations roll out proven volunteering services within weeks. Four organisations who joined a course in September are already on track to launch their new services in January.

Helpforce understands the pressures on health and care organisations, so we’ve set up a new course to help set up tried and tested volunteer services within 8 to 16 weeks.

Four organisations that started Helpforce’s course in September are now on track to launch their new service in January.

The four organisations are:

• University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
• Hull CVS
• South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
• George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust

They will be launching mealtime support services and a response service that provides support around discharge.

Elizabeth Pollard, volunteer coordinator at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, shared her experience of the course: “I was invited to join Helpforce’s course by my line manager because we were introducing a new mealtime support volunteer role and the course offered an ideal opportunity to get tailored learning and to structure our process.

“The content from the course is extremely informative, with a variety of styles of presentation and learning, as well as regular meetings to touch base and discuss progress. I feel I’m in a safe place to learn, as I always receive guidance and support from the team at Helpforce. The course also offers an excellent way to connect with colleagues undertaking similar projects to share information and experience.”

You can join the course every month. Alongside essential general skills like project and stakeholder management, you’ll get all the resources and skills you need to set up one of three model volunteering services: emergency department volunteers, mealtime support volunteers, and response volunteers with a focus on discharge. In addition, you will receive the peer-to-peer support that will allow you to learn from others, share best practice and discuss any challenges faced.

You can sign up for an online information session and find out more about the course here.