Your Voice in the Future of Health Volunteering

In January 2022 the NHS set up a Volunteering Taskforce, borne out of the amazing work of volunteers during the COVID 19 pandemic, to look closely at volunteering and the NHS and to strengthen and expand the links between volunteer programmes in and outside of the NHS in England.

It came up with a five year plan to improve patient experience and outcomes; to improve staff experiences and wellbeing; to reduce pressure on staff and services; and to improve volunteer wellbeing alongside the acquisition of skills and experience.

And in summer this year, NHS England launched its new 10 Year Plan, explaining how the NHS will be ‘fit for the future’. Both of these plans make clear how important volunteers and volunteering are, both to the NHS and to ensuring healthier communities.

Volunteering for Health is a partnership between Lancashire Association of CVSs (LACVS), NHS Charities Together, NHS England, and CW+, and builds on the earlier work from the NHS Volunteering Taskforce, to strengthen opportunities for volunteering in NHS services, as well as outside of the NHS in local organisations and projects. It is about volunteering in health related services and projects, but is also about how volunteering can, itself, improve your wellbeing.

A big part of this process is a Vision for Volunteering in Lancashire, which will ultimately provide support and resources, including training, for volunteer involving organisations across the county, to help them make volunteering easier and more effective. Every resident in the county has the chance to contribute to this vision by completing a short survey about their own volunteering experiences, including having no previous experience of volunteering at all.

You can access the survey online here!

We appreciate that not everyone has access to the internet, and even if you do, you might prefer to not do things online, and that’s fine. If you would like to complete the survey without using the link above, you can call Mark at Lancaster District CVS on 01524 555900 and he can go through the questions with you over the phone.

We’d really love Lancaster district to have a strong representation on this survey so that our local voice contributes to the countywide vision. The survey takes approximately 5 minutes to complete and every contribution is important. Your help is really appreciated and will make sustained, visible difference to the future of volunteering in Lancashire.