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Volunteer with us
We have lots of different volunteering opportunities within our services. Together, our current volunteers give more than 300 hours of their time every week supporting staff, patients and their families.
Our volunteers bring their skills, their knowledge and a desire to make a difference to our services and the lives of the people we care for. We train, support and develop our volunteers so they can play a meaningful and valuable role.
We hear stories every week from our volunteers themselves, and from the staff and patients they work with, about the incredible difference volunteers make to people's lives. We are proud of our volunteers and the enormous contribution they make.
What do we look for in a volunteer?
We're looking for people who want to help us deliver the best care we can to patients, carers and families. It’s always useful if you have a relevant skill (for example you’re a good listener, you have previous experience of supporting vulnerable people, or you are a keen gardener or musician) because everyone has something unique they can offer.
We are ideally looking for people who:
- can commit to a minimum of six months with us
- have some understanding of mental health issues, intellectual and developmental disabilities (learning disabilities) or substance misuse issues
- have their own transport or would find it fairly easy to get to the location of their volunteering using public transport
Changing Lives: Involved as a Befriender - Arnold Lodge
Befriending opportunities
Rampton High Secure Hospital
Rampton Hospital is seeking to recruit enthusiastic people to volunteer their time and become part of its befriending scheme.
Rampton Hospital Befriending Scheme is patient centered and gives priority to patients who have little or no contact with the outside world
Volunteer befrienders are recruited according to the needs of the patients and to reflect the population of the hospital. They are recruited from many diverse sources with particular emphasis on matching ethnicity and the specific needs of the patient, such as male or female, young or more mature, speaking the patient’s own language or being proficient in sign language.
There are only three requirements for willing volunteers;
- that you are over the age of 21
- you are able to commit up to two hours per month to patient visits
- that you complete a three day training course, provided at the Hospital
As the majority of the patient population is male however, there is a greater demand for male volunteers.
There is no fixed length of service, but it is preferable for volunteers to commit to an initial 12 month period where possible in order to be able to develop consistency for patients.
How do you become a volunteer befriender?
Contact us and we will arrange a suitable time for you to come in and have an informal chat. If you do wish to become a volunteer with us, you will need to complete a registration form in which you will be asked to supply names and addresses of two referees and we will complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services check.
Once all the checks have been carried out, potential volunteer befrienders are invited to attend three in depth training days covering the role of the hospital, all aspects of security, patient confidentiality, boundaries, safeguarding and all the information required to visit a patient safely and effectively in a high secure environment.
Recruitment and training is two way and is a selection process from beginning to end both to ensure that the volunteer is suitable to befriend in a high secure hospital and for the volunteer to make absolutely certain that the high secure environment is suitable for them.
All our volunteers will receive support from the Volunteer Service, as well as reimbursement of expenses, invitations to events and the opportunity to become a member of Nottinghamshire Healthcare.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact:
Family and Volunteer Support Service
Email: FamilyandVolunteerServiceRH@nottshc.nhs.uk
Tel: 01777 247571 or 01777 247653
How to apply
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us.
In light of the current national situation, we are reviewing our volunteer roles and recruitment to match the demands of our services.
For more information on what roles are currently available, please see the Involvement, Experience & Volunteering Team’s website:
Becoming a volunteer
You must:
- be over 16 years old (some placements are over 18 and some are over 21)
- be reliable, trustworthy, motivated, friendly and flexible
- be able to commit to a minimum of four hours per week
- be able to commit to at least six months
- have the ability to deal with difficult situations and be sensitive to others
When we receive your registration form, we make every effort to match your experience, skills, interests and availability to our vacant volunteering roles. It is important to give us as much information as you can about yourself and what you can bring to your volunteering.
If you are selected for a role, we will invite you to come in and meet with us. You will be asked to bring with you the approved forms of ID to complete your Disclosure & Barring Service Check (you will be told what these are). We will also seek two character references.
If you are successful, we will contact you to discuss next steps including further training, induction and other important information about your role. DBS checks and references can take up to six weeks so please expect your starting date to be up to six weeks after this.
Once everything has cleared we will contact you to agree on a start date and arrange for you attend an induction, either at the location of your volunteering or at one of our Involvement and Volunteering Centres.
Our team will keep you up to date on the progress of your application, and are available by email (volunteering@nottshc.nhs.uk) or by phone (0800 052 1415) between 9am-5pm Monday-Friday if you want to ask us anything.
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