Volunteering accessible to all at Barts Health NHS Trust
11th November 2020
Submitted by Nancy Whiskin, Barts Health Trust
Barts Health Volunteer (BHV) programme is a very inclusive volunteer programme aimed at ensuring that people from all backgrounds can have the opportunity to play their part and volunteer in their local hospital. This is demonstrated in the policies and procedures that have been put in place to ensure that volunteering is accessible to all.
During 2019 BHV won awards from the Trust for collaboration and the Heroes of the month for their work on equality. The submission spoke about the supportive and welcoming nature of the team, their ability to treat people equally and according to their needs.
In addition we have received positive feedback from clinical staff about how much volunteers, particularly those that speak a community language have helped to support patients. This has been extremely beneficial for those patients attending appointments such as Physiotherapy to have a volunteer providing non-clinical translation and moral support in a familiar language.
Finally, 23 volunteers came from a long term unemployed background. They have been supported into an employment pathway with twelve of them going into employment at Barts Health Trust.
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