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Retired volunteer workforce to get NHS back on track

I'm appalled at how bad the NHS problems have got. We have an amazing service that is over used and the poor staff suffer. I would love to volunteer one day a week to help out. I thought maybe there might be others who would feel the same. I am not talking about direct care, more sorting out all those time consuming annoying jobs. I've read recently of minor handyman jobs that need sorting, admin tasks that are straightforward but time consuming. Imagine if all those who retire offered just one day a week, the service would soon be back on its feet and I would hope morale would improve for staff if they feel the support is there. Is it even feasible?


Created By on 30/06/2017

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jeanmark
30th Jun 2017 19:21:16 (Last activity: 6th Jul 2017 19:37:51)
0
Thanks for voting!
There are many volunteers within the NHS doing various jobs to help patients, League of Friends is just one. Why not enquire at your local hospital to see what you could do.
Response from Sarah100 Original Poster made on 30th Jun 2017 21:57:49
I was thinking more of a national scheme. I bet there must be lots of retired people who would be willing to help out.
Response from jeanmark made on 1st Jul 2017 13:06:24
The League of Friends is a national scheme, the National Association of Leagues of Hospital Friends (N.A.L.H.F.) was formed in 1949.

I am sure there are a lot of retired people willing to help in various ways, but it would still need to be done at local level because of all the necessary hoops that have to be jumped through. Most hospitals, including community hospitals, run a Volunteer Service.
Response from Sarah100 Original Poster made on 2nd Jul 2017 21:00:33
Oh ok, that sounds good. So do they do things like admin tasks to take the load off the paid staff? Can they work with patient records?
Response from jeanmark made on 6th Jul 2017 19:37:51
No, they can't work with patient records as that would be a breach in confidentiality. Don't forget there are a large number of admin staff on minimum wages who need their job but there are other areas volunteers can work in.

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