A Snapshot of the Volunteer Workforce Across the North West

With a growing number of volunteers being used within NHS trusts to carry out a range of tasks (including some tasks within clinical areas) there is a need to understand what exactly volunteers do and the contribution they make to patient care and experience, as well as how they are managed to help deliver NHS services. NHS Employers have developed a volunteering pack intended to help NHS trusts manage their volunteers more effectively, stating that “volunteers who are both well managed and supported are more likely to stay with an organisation, building their skills and knowledge and contributing to effective and value-for-money services. Good volunteer management also ensures that risk is managed effectively”. This pack provides employers with the practical information they need to help them respond to the Department of Health’s strategic vision for volunteering and provides advice on recruitment, training and induction, managing volunteers and problem solving.Against the backdrop of such guidance this hot topic is intended as a snapshot of several North West trusts, as a means of gaining an insight into how, in practice, volunteers are trained, recruited, monitored and managed within individual organisations.