Volunteering :: Start Well, Live Well, Age Well

Could you help to improve the experience of our patients?

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Isle of Wight NHS Trust.

Due to high interest, we are temporarily closed for new applications and hope to re-open in August.

Please come back then to look at the roles we offer.

Our Volunteer Service is fortunate to have a wonderful team of caring, compassionate, and dedicated volunteers that selflessly offer their time to support our various services throughout the Trust. Their diverse backgrounds and personal experiences mean that they all bring their own set of skills and array of knowledge which we are all very grateful for.

Some of the roles volunteers are involved in include:

Administrators
Chaplaincy
Community First Responders
Meet and greet
Patient Council Member
Ward Helpers
What brings you joy

Volunteer Community First Responder

CFR SF.jpg We are incredibly proud of our Volunteer Community First Responders (CFR’s). These people are trained by us to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work. Being local often allows these amazing people to reach a casualty in the first few vital minutes before the ambulance arrives.

Their role is to help stabilise the patient and provide the appropriate and potentially life saving care until the more highly skilled ambulance crew arrives on scene to take over the treatment.

We periodically recruit for Volunteer Community First Responders. For further information please visit the following link About Ambulance Service Volunteer Community First Responders — ATCoRS

What brings you joy volunteer

Purpose / Summary of role:

To enhance the quality of life and environment of the patients by proving social and practical help as identified by the Ward/department Manager.

Key Activities:

To actively engage with our long stay patients, discovering what brings them joy and tailor activities to meet those needs
Spend time weekly with these patients, bringing stimulation to their days
Work on those wards that have been highlighted to have long stay patients
Bring joy, stimulation, and time to those in need
Listen, engage, and spend time with patients
If applicable, encourage social interaction in bays, using communal tables if available
To connect with the multi-disciplinary team to help identify those patients in need

To view the full role description, please click here.

Ward Helper Volunteer

Purpose / Summary of role:

As a Ward Helper you will be based on one of our wards assisting with non-clinical tasks.
The aim of the role is to enhance the quality of life and environment of the patient by providing social and practrical help.

Key Activities:

Engaging in conversations with patients
making drinks for patients
Distributing meals
Interacting with patients such as by playing games and reading
To undertake any other duties that may be appropriate in respect of a Ward Helper

To view the full role description, please click here.

Telephone:

01983 822099 ext. 6411

Email:

Iownt.volunteer@nhs.net

Address:

Volunteer Service
Isle of Wight NHS Trust
St Mary’s Hospital
Parkhurst
Newport
Isle of Wight
PO30 5TG

Volunteering requires commitment, both of energy and time. Our volunteers are unpaid – apart from travel expenses – so why do it? There are many reasons, including:

Job satisfaction
The chance to gain experience and develop new skill
Social contact and activity
The opportunity to help other people
A rewarding and fun experience

Depending on the area they work, our volunteers undertake a wide variety of activities including talking to patients, making teas and coffees, helping to make beds, signposting to services and escorting people around the hospital. By doing that little extra, volunteers can brighten a patients day.

No, you don’t usually need any special skills to be a volunteer at St Mary’s hospital. We provide all volunteers with general training and you will also be given specialised training relevant to your role, if needed. Our volunteers are made up of a diverse range of people and it is more important that they have qualities such as friendliness, a sense of humour, reliability and a genuine wish and willingness to help.

Each volunteer decides how much time they are able to offer. Some people come in for three hours per week, others volunteer for one to two days a week. Normally volunteers will undertake one session of 3-4 hours per week. We do ask that volunteers commit to a minimum of six months so it is important to think carefully about whether volunteering will fit into your life on a regular basis.

We welcome volunteers from the age of 16 and there is no upper age limit.