Volunteers’ Week and the NHS

This week is Volunteers’ Week – a week where we can focus on the input and support that volunteers give our communities across the country.  This morning, I heard on the radio a result of some research done by the Royal Voluntary Service which said 37% of individuals are planning or considering volunteering to help the NHS in some form and it made me wonder if any of FaithAction members felt the same?

Here’s a confession to start with – I’m a volunteer in my local hospital trust.  I have been a volunteer over the past year, but I didn’t get involved because I had copious amounts of time, or because I fell in love with my local hospital… I got involved because I wanted to make the service better.

Daniel Singleton, National Executive Director of FaithAction, often refers to an NHS that has become a National Health System, not a National Health Service.  I got involved in volunteering to make it the latter.  I particularly volunteer with the maternity services, who have a bad reputation because of some things that happened five years ago, and whenever I walk into the hospital to do volunteering, I remind myself to be solution-focused and bring about some sort of change.

So let me leave you with these thoughts:

• Are you involved in your local health services through volunteering or giving some kind of input?
  If so – can you help us by providing some information of how to get others involved too?
• Do you want to get involved but don’t know how?
  FaithAction is going to do some training and make sure you are involved – you can register here to be on the waiting list.
• Tell us about your volunteering!
  Send us a blog/picture/story and let us know how you are volunteering to change things in your local community.