Volunteering
The Voluntary Services department enables suitably trained hospital volunteers to help in a variety of ways throughout the hospital, deploying them where they are most needed and suited. This involves help in wards (in particular helping at mealtimes/clinics/outpatients) and offices and also "meet and greet guides" who help patients to find their way to various destinations within the hospital.
The role of the volunteer is, and must remain, complementary to the role of paid staff. Volunteers are not an alternative resource or a substitute to be used to fill temporary vacant or discontinued paid posts.
Volunteers are required to commit to a minimum of at least 4 months of service. The minimum age for most voluntary roles is 18 years of age.
The Trust is currently unable to consider new applications for volunteering and work experience.
Areas in which you can volunteer
Wards
Talk to patients, help patients to select meals, assist with feeding, run errands, bed making
Dining companions
Assist at meal times – distributing meals, making drinks, feeding patients, talk to patients
Administrator
General admin – filing, photocopying, data entry, reception duties
Gardener
Assist other volunteers to maintain a community garden which is used by relatives of “end of life patients"
Macmillan Cancer Information Centre
Welcome visitors, make appointments, distribute resources, order and maintain resources
Help desk volunteers
Help visitors with general enquiries, provide directions
Meet and greet volunteers
Walk visitors to their required destination within the hospital, help with general enquiries
Communications/PR
Assist with writing case studies and articles for publishing, public speaking
Animal Assisted Therapy
A formal, recognised Animal Assisted Therapy programme enabling a unique and innovative approach to meeting rehabilitation goals involving the animal as a motivating focus for the patients, most of whom will have experienced trauma to the brain, for example a stroke
Maternity
Meet and greet women and visitors and show them where they need to go, support staff in the care of pregnant women and new mums, support mums to make breastfeeding successful, help on the ward and assist with admin tasks.
Volunteer Application process
- Complete and submit Volunteer Application Form
- Interview
- Two references
- Occupational Health Screening
- Criminal Record Bureau Check
- Induction training
- Honorary Agreement
Work experience
Work experience provides an opportunity for students to shadow relevant staff, thus enabling the work experience student to gain a better understanding of the role(s) they shadow.
Most work experience placements last no longer than one week and the minimum age for work experience is 16 years.
Work experience recruitment process
- Application form
- Interview
- Recruitment checks (incl. references)
Applicants should either live or study within the Trust's main catchment area as we have limited places and numerous requests.
Please note: Due to the number the large number of applications we receive, it is not possible to acknowledge receipt of application forms. If you have not been contacted four weeks after submitting, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful.
Please click here to read our Volunteer magazine online.
For information please contact the Voluntary Services department on 020 8375 1349 or email either bcf-tr.volunteer-bcfh@nhs.net or bcf-tr.workexp-bcfh@nhs.net.
The Trust is currently unable to consider new applications for volunteering and work experience.
