Volunteering and end of life care: an evidence based toolkit

NCVO recently developed Volunteering and end-of-life care: An evidence-based toolkit to address the problem of supporting people with advanced illness, and their families.

The ‘end-of-life’ period is a difficult time for many people. Typically, people experience changes in health and reduction in ability in what they can do for themselves. This, combined with distressing feelings of uncertainty about the future, can leave people feeling very alone and isolated.

Often families become involved in providing care, but they may lack knowledge on how best to give support or access appropriate services. Health and social care services may be excellent, but they are often very busy and overstretched.

However, volunteers can provide compassionate and flexible care. This can be as simple as doing basic but important things such as practical help with shopping, or taking time for a leisurely chat over a coffee. The toolkit offers a short, easy to read, practical guide to help volunteer services improve the use of the skills and attributes that volunteers bring

For more information on the toolkit and for tips on how to best use it visit blogs.ncvo.org.uk