Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Volunteers are helping to deliver care in hospitals and in the community, but the health service does not always make the most of their knowledge and expertise.
The Francis report published in February was a stark reminder that healthcare is not just about treatment and cure for patients. The report may well prove to be a turning point for prioritising compassion in healthcare. One way to take this forward is to support the work some hospitals are already doing to support patients with volunteers.
Our Volunteering in Health and Care report, published on Thursday, has found that the scale of volunteering in health and social care is impressive; an estimated three million people in England volunteer in both the voluntary sector and public services. This compares to 1.6 million people working in the NHS and 1.2 million in social care.
They add significant value to the work of paid employees in a way that is often not fully understood or appreciated. For example, during 2011, King's College hospital recruited more than 500 new volunteers and saw measurable improvements in patient experience scores in those areas where volunteers had been involved in providing care.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/healthcare-network/2013/mar/14/nhs-underestimate-value-volunteers
The Francis report published in February was a stark reminder that healthcare is not just about treatment and cure for patients. The report may well prove to be a turning point for prioritising compassion in healthcare. One way to take this forward is to support the work some hospitals are already doing to support patients with volunteers.
Our Volunteering in Health and Care report, published on Thursday, has found that the scale of volunteering in health and social care is impressive; an estimated three million people in England volunteer in both the voluntary sector and public services. This compares to 1.6 million people working in the NHS and 1.2 million in social care.
They add significant value to the work of paid employees in a way that is often not fully understood or appreciated. For example, during 2011, King's College hospital recruited more than 500 new volunteers and saw measurable improvements in patient experience scores in those areas where volunteers had been involved in providing care.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/healthcare-network/2013/mar/14/nhs-underestimate-value-volunteers