We need a massive expansion of volunteers in public services | Stuart Etherington

More people would get involved in voluntary work if we threw open the doors of our hospitals and care homes and made it easier for them

There is a good chance that the last time you or a relative visited a hospital, volunteers were helping to provide the services that you needed. Hopefully they made what can be a stressful experience easier or better. For some, the care and support of volunteers might also have led to an improved health outcome. From “expert patients” to volunteer drivers, befrienders to human satnavs, people giving their time to help others are the core of our health system, both past and present.

With an estimated 3 million volunteers supporting the overstretched health and social care system we need to change the question of “why are we relying upon unpaid volunteers?” to “why aren’t we getting more citizens involved in the NHS?”

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Continue reading... December 06, 2017 at 01:30PM