King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation trust awarded a grant as part of Volunteering for Health Programme, which aims to harness the power of volunteering for health and social care nationally and locally.

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation trust has been awarded a grant as part of Volunteering for Health - a £10 million programme being delivered in partnership by NHS England, NHS Charities Together and CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Volunteering for Health aims to maximise the benefits of volunteers as a vital resource in delivering health and social care nationally and locally, whilst strengthening volunteering infrastructure.

The programme is part of NHS England’s response to the NHS Volunteering Taskforce which brought together health charities, volunteers, clinicians, civil servants and policy makers. The Taskforce published its recommendations in June 2023, concluding that more can be done nationally and locally to maximise the benefits of volunteers and volunteering in the NHS.

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation trust was one of 15 partnerships across the UK to successfully bid for funding. Partnerships are made up of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations, NHS Trusts, integrated care boards (ICBs), local authorities (LAs) and NHS charities.

Grants were awarded to applicants who were able to demonstrate how they intended to break down barriers, test new models and develop guidance and best practice that can be shared across the NHS and beyond.  

The project seeks to bring together 9 core delivery partners to transform the way volunteering is delivered across South East London. We have co-designed a ‘Volunteering without Barriers’ model that will ensure that health and care priorities are better supported by volunteering, that volunteers have better experience and that innovative approaches to recruiting, supporting and deploying volunteers are adopted and shared. Throughout the project, we will co-design pathways and build a volunteering infrastructure to reduce waste and eliminate duplication.

In addition, we will focus on offering opportunities to individuals who are underrepresented including people with caring responsibilities, deaf people, people with learning disabilities, migrant and refugees and people from Black, African and Caribbean heritage, helping to reduce health inequalities for these groups.

Christopher Evans, Chief Executive at Community Links Bromley, said:

“We are delighted to be a core partner on this project. Volunteer Centres are critical to supporting volunteers into opportunities, and to ensuring health and care priorities are better supported. We look forward to working with partners to delivering “Volunteering without Barriers”. 

The grant will be paid in instalments over the next three years, until the end of June 2027. King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation trust will receive an initial payment for the development phase, with an ambition to begin delivering the programme by March 2025.

Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said:

“Volunteers, as partners with our skilled staff, make a significant contribution across NHS and care services and positively impact the lives of many people.

“There are currently more than 300 ways that people can volunteer for the NHS, ranging from running a hospital radio show to helping combat loneliness. This programme will further harness the power of volunteering for the benefit of patients, staff and communities.”

 

Search ‘NHS Volunteering’ or visit volunteering.england.nhs.uk/volunteer to find out more about how to become an NHS volunteer.