About our projects

Healthwatch Lewisham is committed to trying to make changes to health and social care services that reflect the needs of the people in the local community. In order to do that, we establish projects looking in to the key concerns and issues that have been reported to us by the general public. 

We need the assistance of volunteers in these project groups to help us to look thoroughly at these issues. Some of these project groups are time limited and come to an end when the piece of work is completed. The project groups are practically focused and made up of people who have an interest in a particular area of health and social care and would like to see improvement in that area. 

Each project group undertakes specific pieces of work as per the work programme which is set by the Healthwatch Lewisham Board. Our project groups continue beyond the completion of the work to ensure that actions are taken to make services better and address the points that Healthwatch has raised. The project groups are led by a member of the Healthwatch staff team, and regularly report back to the Healthwatch Trustee Board.

As a project volunteer, you can get involved in a number of different activities to assist in the development of a project. 

These will include attending some meetings to plan and develop work and practical activities to look at how they are delivered as decided by the group. Additionally, you could be involved with reading policy reports or consultation documents; analysing the content of service specifications; helping to draft questionnaires; helping to analyse the findings of surveys; meeting with NHS or social care staff and managers to find out information and present Healthwatch findings; visiting services; talking to patients or service users; drafting recommendations. 

The role can be flexible, you decide the amount of time you would like to commit to assisting the project group. We would expect that as a volunteer you are likely to be between 5 - 12 hours per month depending on the cycle of work the group agrees to do and the work elements you get involved in and this will not necessarily be spread evenly across the month as pieces of work are likely to lead to peaks in activity. 

Is this the right role for me?

All volunteers involved in a project group will be expected to: 

• Adhere to Healthwatch Lewisham’s values, policies and procedures 

• Work together to achieve aims that are beneficial to people using health and social care services 

• Share information, ideas and learning openly 

• Listen to and encourage others 

• Work out how much time they can commit to the work and stick to this commitment 

• Be willing to undertake training and develop knowledge/understanding 

• Demonstrate commitment to inclusivity and valuing diversity 

Experience

We are keen to work with people who have an interest in the focus area of the project, especially people with relevant personal and professional experience. 

Personal Qualities

You should: 

• Be able to work effectively as a member of a team 

• Be able to work with a wide range of people from different backgrounds 

• Be able to contribute to group meetings/discussions 

• Be able to deal with confidential information sensitively and appropriately 

• Have good listening skills 

• Be non-judgemental 

• Be committed to the vision of making positive changes to health and social care services 

About our projects

Healthwatch Lewisham is committed to trying to make changes to health and social care services that reflect the needs of the people in the local community. In order to do that, we establish projects looking in to the key concerns and issues that have been reported to us by the general public. 

We need the assistance of volunteers in these project groups to help us to look thoroughly at these issues. Some of these project groups are time limited and come to an end when the piece of work is completed. The project groups are practically focused and made up of people who have an interest in a particular area of health and social care and would like to see improvement in that area. 

Each project group undertakes specific pieces of work as per the work programme which is set by the Healthwatch Lewisham Board. Our project groups continue beyond the completion of the work to ensure that actions are taken to make services better and address the points that Healthwatch has raised. The project groups are led by a member of the Healthwatch staff team, and regularly report back to the Healthwatch Trustee Board.

As a project volunteer, you can get involved in a number of different activities to assist in the development of a project.

These will include attending some meetings to plan and develop work and practical activities to look at how they are delivered as decided by the group. Additionally, you could be involved with reading policy reports or consultation documents; analysing the content of service specifications; helping to draft questionnaires; helping to analyse the findings of surveys; meeting with NHS or social care staff and managers to find out information and present Healthwatch findings; visiting services; talking to patients or service users; drafting recommendations. 

The role can be flexible, you decide the amount of time you would like to commit to assisting the project group. We would expect that as a volunteer you are likely to be between 5 - 12 hours per month depending on the cycle of work the group agrees to do and the work elements you get involved in and this will not necessarily be spread evenly across the month as pieces of work are likely to lead to peaks in activity. 

Is this the right role for me?

All volunteers involved in a project group will be expected to:

• Adhere to Healthwatch Lewisham’s values, policies and procedures 

• Work together to achieve aims that are beneficial to people using health and social care services 

• Share information, ideas and learning openly 

• Listen to and encourage others 

• Work out how much time they can commit to the work and stick to this commitment 

• Be willing to undertake training and develop knowledge/understanding 

• Demonstrate commitment to inclusivity and valuing diversity 

Experience

We are keen to work with people who have an interest in the focus area of the project, especially people with relevant personal and professional experience. 

Personal Qualities

You should:

• Be able to work effectively as a member of a team 

• Be able to work with a wide range of people from different backgrounds 

• Be able to contribute to group meetings/discussions 

• Be able to deal with confidential information sensitively and appropriately 

• Have good listening skills 

• Be non-judgemental 

• Be committed to the vision of making positive changes to health and social care services 

About the role

Strategic Ambassadors have a vital role to play as the link between Healthwatch Lewisham and statutory organisations within health and social care, such as Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), NHS Trusts and local authorities. Primarily, Strategic Ambassadors will build effective partnerships to advance the overall aims and objectives of Healthwatch Lewisham. They will support the work of statutory organisations in their engagement and involvement of people in the development and delivery of health and social care services. This will require Strategic Ambassadors to take a broad and balanced view of the strategic challenges facing health and social care, but a view fundamentally grounded in the lived experience of patients, service users and the public. 

Key Tasks

• Lead the liaison between Healthwatch Lewisham and a specified statutory sector organisation

• Represent Healthwatch Lewisham at formal (and informal) meetings, boards and committees of that organisation

• Develop meaningful and effective relationships with the organisation, its staff, members and service users

• Ensure that the voice and lived experience of the citizens of Lewisham are taken account of within the decision-making and operational processes of the organisation, adopting a supportive, independent and critical stance

• Present and promote the findings and recommendations of Healthwatch Lewisham research and public engagement

• Identifying potential future areas of enquiry for Healthwatch Lewisham

• Pro-actively encourage the two-way sharing of communication, information and intelligence between the organisation and Healthwatch Lewisham, as well as other statutory and non-statutory organisations

• Promote and support the general principles of engagement, involvement and coproduction within the organisation, reflecting innovative and best practice

• Identify opportunities for Healthwatch Lewisham to collaborate and work in partnership with statutory and non-statutory organisations

• To provide regular, relevant and appropriate feedback to Healthwatch Lewisham about the organisation and the partnership

Is this the right role for me?

All volunteers will be expected to have:

• Effective communication skills in both verbally and written formats

• Be an effective listener

• Be able to successfully build relationships, partnerships and networks with individuals and organisations

• Have effective skills or be capable of leadership, influencing and diplomacy

• Be able to show a demonstrable regard for the values and principles of Healthwatch Lewisham

• Have a willingness to work in a focussed but flexible way to achieve the strategic objectives of Healthwatch Lewisham

• Be engaging around training and self-development opportunities

• Look at how Healthwatch Lewisham may strengthen its reach through other networks/organisations 

Benefits of volunteering

• The opportunity to represent and be the voice of the local people

• Becoming involved in making a difference to your local community

• Using your experience with Healthwatch to develop your CV and seek work in health and social care or other fields of employment

• Reasonable travel and expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with our Volunteer Policy

Background/Purpose

Healthwatch Lewisham is an independent organisation set up to champion the views of patients in Lewisham, with the goal of making services better and improving health and well-being.

Healthwatch Lewisham require student ambassadors to engage with students, promoting the role of Healthwatch and encouraging all local people to become involved and have their voices heard. 

We are seeking driven individuals, with a passion for improving health and social care. We are particularly interested in those individuals who have an interest in engaging with members of the community and students to gather information about people experiences of health and social care services.

Benefits:

• CV building opportunities in Health & Social care sector.

• Developing new skills. 

Tasks:

• To gather views of students on their experiences of health and social care in Lewisham. 

• To represent Healthwatch Lewisham at a variety of boards, meetings and groups and gather information to feedback to the Healthwatch Team.

• To be responsible for locality Healthwatch groups, which will support representation for each area. 

Time commitment: 

• Minimum of 2 hours a week. 

When: 

• Dates and times as agreed with Healthwatch Lewisham staff. 

Basic requirements:

• Ability to communicate fluently in native language and English.

• Preferably belong to an emerging community in Lewisham (Afghan, Nepalese, Algerian, Burmese, Sri Lankan, Romanian & Bulgarian communities).

• Strong desire to raise awareness about healthcare services. 

• Strong communication skills.

• Commitment to personal progression and openness to diversity.

Background/Purpose

Healthwatch is an organisation which has previously benefitted from the participation of its young volunteers in influencing the provision of Health & Social care services across the county. This includes the commissioning of a video production on sexual health and sponsorship of the youth parliament process. Healthwatch Lewisham now envisages the creation of new roles and opportunities for young volunteers across the county as representatives of their peers in the Health & Social care sector. 

Now is the right time for young people to become more actively and directly involved in health and social care projects through Healthwatch, such as the Healthy Schools Initiative and Youth Parliament. There will also be shadowing opportunities at senior committee and board level meetings, accompanying Healthwatch liaison representatives at a strategic level.

Benefits:

• CV building opportunities in Health & Social care sector

Tasks:

• Attend relevant events in youth representative role and shadow Healthwatch Lewisham liaison volunteers and staff at strategic level in the NHS and County Council

• Provide advice to the Healthwatch Lewisham staff on strategic influencing opportunities to raise the profile of Healthwatch Lewisham to young people and all aspects of youth welfare

Time commitment: 

• Dependent on desired level of involvement

When: 

• Dates and times as agreed with Healthwatch Lewisham staff

Skills/experience needed: 

• Strong desire to see young people involved in decision making about raising standards of Health & Social care service provision

• Tact coupled with strong communication skills

• Commitment to personal progression and openness to diversity

About the role

To assist Healthwatch Bromley staff in a range of administrative and support duties.

Key Tasks

• Offering general support to staff member/s in the Healthwatch Bromley office. 

• Assisting with record keeping, paperwork and updating databases. 

• Ordering stationery and other supplies 

• Assisting with phone calls, visitors and directing enquiries to appropriate staff. 

• Overseeing the smooth running of office machinery, faxes, photocopiers etc.

• Shredding confidential documents as required

Is this the right role for me?

All volunteers will be expected to be: 

• Able to follow procedures and work in a team, on own initiative & under pressure. 

• Proficient in the use of computers and IT in general, in particular Microsoft office functions 

• Comfortable using the internet, sending emails, researching websites etc. 

• An ability to work with people in a flexible and efficient manner

• A desire to learn about the running of charity offices. 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Benefits of volunteering

• Enjoying the experience of volunteering as part of a friendly team and meeting new people

• Increasing your confidence and learning new skills

• Using your experience with Healthwatch to develop your CV and seek work in health and social care or other fields of employment

• Reasonable travel and expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with our Volunteer Policy

About the role

To assist Healthwatch Bromley staff in a range of administrative and support duties. Your voice in health and Social Care (YVHSC) are looking for Bromley residents interested in becoming part of Healthwatch Bromley.

We are looking for people to join our committee with local knowledge, experience and passion for promoting better health and social care for local people.

The committee represents and advisory body overseeing strategic direction and monitoring the progress of Healthwatch Bromley. You will be responsible for shaping the future organisation and establishing the basis for building a large local membership from all communities in the borough.

Key Tasks

1. Oversee governance of Healthwatch Bromley, working with the Chair and other members of the Committee to

ensure:

• Compliance with the agreed codes of governance, Healthwatch Bromley and Healthwatch Bromley financial regulations, national guidance and delegated authorities;

• To understand roles and responsibilities with appropriate arrangements for appraisal, training and development;

• To commit to Healthwatch Bromley approach to valuing diversity and equal opportunities through its service delivery and employment.

• Attend and contribute to regular Committee meetings to ensure key issues are discussed by the Committee in a timely manner and addressed with an agreed approach.

2. Contribute to the performance of the Committee to ensure:

• The Strategic Group’s business is conducted efficiently and effectively through a framework

• of delegation and systems of internal control that also enables the work of Healthwatch

• Bromley to be carried on effectively between meetings of the Strategic group.

• Implementation of frameworks for effective budget and risk management.

• Contribute to the effectiveness of Healthwatch Bromley through the use of expertise, skills and experiences, either as a Committee member in an appointed capacity, or to committees/work groups.

3. Attend Committee meetings, participating in other committees/groups where required, ensuring:

• Meetings should be conducted in a way that all members are given the opportunity to express their views and that appropriate standards of behavior are maintained in line with an agreed code of conduct.

• Decisions are taken as delegated through the appropriate procedures.

• To declare any relevant personal, professional or commercial interests in any matters being discussed by the Committee.

Monitoring performance:

4. Work together to strive for continuous improvement and to drive excellence for

Healthwatch Bromley and local health and social care services.

5. Contribute to the scrutinising and reviewing performance and patient, service user, carer and

wider community satisfaction with reference to the performance of comparable organisations.

6. Identify, approve and oversee a range of projects through to evaluation of impact and publishing

of reports.

7. Oversee the publishing of an Annual Report and Accounts each year, highlighting priorities, progress & key issues.

Public Engagement

8. To oversee the development of a comprehensive community development strategy to ensure Healthwatch Bromley is reaching the diverse communities of Bromley, including those who are seldom heard.

9. To be involved as the outward face of Healthwatch Bromley at Public Engagement events and conferences, demonstrate leadership and take an active role in public and membership engagement.

Maintaining good relationships with staff:

10. Build and maintain effective working relationships with the Healthwatch Chief Officer, the staff team and senior staff within other organisations and to work in partnership.

11. Provide appropriate management, advice, support and challenge to the Healthwatch Bromley Staff.

12. To work with staff in an overarching guiding capacity, not in a day-to-day line management role.

Representing Healthwatch Bromley:

13. Build and maintain good relationships with key stakeholders, including members of the public, patients, service users, carers, Healthwatch England, the Department of Health, Care Quality Commission, Monitor (Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts), NHS funded providers, Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group, Bromley Health & Wellbeing Board, and Bromley Council.

14. Act as an ambassador and representative for the organisation, upholding the reputation of Healthwatch Bromley and its values.

15. Network and promote the achievements, purposes and benefits of Healthwatch Bromley.

16. Ensure that Healthwatch Bromley is represented on the Bromley Health and Wellbeing Board and plays a proactive role in decisions relating to the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, planning, commissioning and delivery of health and social care.

17. Ensure representation from Healthwatch Bromley is evidence based and supported by data

Is this the right role for me?

Requirements of Committee Members:

• Committee Meetings – Committee members are expected to attend all scheduled meetings of the Committee.

• Working together – Committee members will be required to support the objectives and policies agreed by the Committee, and to contribute to and share responsibility for the decisions of the Committee. They will be expected to work constructively with other Committee members and staff of Healthwatch Bromley.

• Code of Conduct – Committee members will be expected to abide fully with Healthwatch Bromley’s code of conduct, to maintain high standards of probity and follow the Nolan principles of standards in public life. They must also present a positive image of the Committee and Healthwatch Bromley at external events.

• Training – Committee members are encouraged to identify personal training and

• development needs, and seek opportunities for development, attending training events as required. Specific training will be offered which is relevant to the role of the Healthwatch Bromley Committee members.

• Committee meetings and Working Groups – There will be various committee meetings of the Committee, and periodic work groups, that Committee members may be required to participate in.

• Preparation time – Committee members are required to allocate time for reading reports and preparing for Committee Meetings (and where appropriate committee meetings and working groups)

• Other attendance – Committee members may be requested to attend other events and associated meetings linked to supporting, developing or promoting Healthwatch Bromley and its objectives.

Benefits of volunteering

• Enjoying the experience of volunteering as part of a friendly team and meeting new people

• Increasing your confidence and learning new skills

• Using your experience with Healthwatch to develop your CV and seek work in health and social care or other fields of employment

• Reasonable travel and expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with our Volunteer Policy

About the role

Community Ambassadors have a vital role to play as the link between Healthwatch Bromley and the citizens of Bromley – meaning individuals, communities, voluntary and community sector organisations and other patient or service user groups. As a Community Ambassador, you will promote and advance the aims and objectives of Healthwatch Bromley by becoming the ‘eyes and ears’ of the organisation, gathering people’s voices and lived experience of health and social care. This will form a fundamental part of the evidence base with which Healthwatch Bromley will seek to change and improve health and social care in the borough.

Key Tasks

• Support Healthwatch Bromley to have a presence at events and distribute information on our behalf to different organisations

• Actively promote the work of Healthwatch Bromley

• Encourage people to use Healthwatch Bromley as their independent health and social care champion

• Assist the Healthwatch staff team to gather views of local people or people with certain needs or who use certain services (running focus groups, helping us to carry out consultations, help others complete Healthwatch Bromley surveys and questionnaires)

• To attend meetings and supervisions as required

Is this the right role for me?

All volunteers will be expected to be: 

• Approachable

• Ability to maintain confidentiality

• Ability to develop a good rapport with people

• Good interpersonal skills

• Excellent listening skills

• Able to feed back to Healthwatch Bromley succinctly in writing on views heard

• Have a commitment to helping local people have a voice and improving local services

• Be non-judgemental, open minded and able to separate your own experiences from those of other people and practice impartiality

Benefits of volunteering

• Enjoying the experience of volunteering as part of a friendly team and meeting new people

• Becoming involved in making a difference to your local community

• Increasing your confidence and learning new skills

• Using your experience with Healthwatch to develop your CV and seek work in health and social care or other fields of employment

• Reasonable travel and expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with our Volunteer Policy

Background/Purpose

Healthwatch Bromley is an organisation which has previously benefitted from the participation of volunteers from diverse cultural backgrounds, influencing the provision of Health & Social care services across the borough. This includes research projects to evaluate the quality of NHS services, signposting patients to relevant healthcare services, providing information to the public on available Health and Social care services and guidance on complaint procedures. Healthwatch Bromley now envisages the creation of new roles and opportunities for members of emerging communities across the borough (Afghan, Nepalese, Algerian, Burmese, Sri Lankan, Romanian & Bulgarian communities) as representatives of members of their community in the Health & Social care sector.

The main motive of this opening is to ensure that members of emerging communities have access to information about healthcare services available to them, and that no individual is deprived of Health and Social care services due to lack of knowledge about services or issues with communication in English. This would be a great opportunity for willing volunteers from emerging communities to become more actively and directly involved in health and social care projects through Healthwatch. In addition, this role would avenue opportunities for shadowing at senior committee and board level meetings, working together with Healthwatch liaison representatives and the project team at a strategic level. 

Benefits:

• CV building opportunities in Health & Social care sector.

• Developing new skills. 

Tasks:

• Get involved with community outreach programmes by Healthwatch Bromley, specifically targeting emerging communities in Bromley.

• Provide advice to the Healthwatch Bromley staff on strategic influencing opportunities to raise the profile of Healthwatch Bromley to members of emerging communities.

• Engage in research projects led by Healthwatch Bromley, aimed at enabling access and providing awareness of healthcare services to emerging communities.

• Get involved in decision making about raising standards of Health & Social care service provision.

Time commitment: 

• Minimum of 2 hours a week. 

When: 

• Dates and times as agreed with Healthwatch Bromley staff. 

Basic requirements:

• Ability to communicate fluently in native language and English.

• Preferably belong to an emerging community in Bromley (Afghan, Nepalese, Algerian, Burmese, Sri Lankan, Romanian & Bulgarian communities).

• Strong desire to raise awareness about healthcare services. 

• Strong communication skills.

• Commitment to personal progression and openness to diversity.

COVID-19 EMERGENCY ROLE TO SUPPORT VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS

Are you looking for a way to support vulnerable people during these uncertain times?

If so, we really need your help.

We are looking for Volunteers to support our service users that may be self-isolating or are vulnerable during these times by dropping off essential items to an address.

Please bear in mind that due to the fast-paced situation we are faced with, with advice changing on a daily basis, there may be a bit of a delay between you applying and us being able to place you. Please know that regardless of this we value your support hugely, it is vital, and we will be in touch at some point.

Main Tasks

• To support our service users to have access to essential items such as food and medication by providing distance drop off. This would include ringing doorbell and stepping back.
• To collect items from the shops or pharmacy and then to travel to an address for the service user to deliver these items off.
• To liaise and communicate with our staff team regarding these drop-offs.
• To keep records of who you have dropped off to and summary of drop off.

Skills and Experience Required:

• Ability to travel
• Maintain confidentiality
• Good communication skills
• Basic IT skills if possible

For more information about Hestia, this opportunity and our extensive benefits with volunteering at Hestia please see our volunteers pack attached to this advert!

Hestia is proud to be a Disability Confident employer. Should you require our job pack in an alternative format, require further assistant or wish to discuss any reasonable adjustments you may need to attend an interview, please contact us via our website

If you have any convictions/cautions, this does not mean you cannot apply for any of our roles, however we do require a DBS for all positions. We will ensure that any positive disclosures on DBS records are discussed with our volunteers and fairly assessed.

Location: We are looking for support all over London, so please get in touch with where you’d be able to support us.

Hours: Flexible commitment

About Hestia

At Hestia, we have been supporting adults and children across London in times of crisis since 1970, meaning this year will mark our 50th anniversary!

Last year we worked with more than 10,000 people, including victims of modern slavery, women and children who have experienced domestic abuse, young care leavers and older people. From giving someone a home to helping them to get the right mental health support, we support and enable people at the moment of crisis.

Background/Purpose

Service evaluations are an integral part of Healthwatch activity, placing as they do service users, patients and care home residents at the heart of assessing quality of service delivery. Effective observation of service provision and evidence based reporting of the quality of care delivered in various settings is a powerful means of influencing standards. Healthwatch volunteers have undertaken 'Enter & View’ visits to various publicly funded care settings and care homes to assess quality of provision and report on their findings. 

A competent body of volunteer expertise is thereby being further utilised to assess other services where public funds are disbursed. The role of Healthwatch Bromley as consumer champion in the Health & Social care sector is reinforced through its ‘Enter & View’ activity and reporting which influences commissioners when designing services or service providers as they deliver them throughout the borough.

Task(s):

• Survey completion and service recommendations from on-site visits

• Attend bi-monthly planning group meetings according to availability

Time commitment:

• The number of site visits will depend on availability of the volunteer

• Questionnaire duration approximately 2 hours

When:

• Planning group sessions approximately 2 hours every 2 months in Bromley according to availability

Skills/experience needed:

• An understanding of the role of Healthwatch Bromley

• An understanding of the role of ‘Enter & View’ within the Healthwatch programme

• Tact and diplomacy, observational skills coupled with a desire to raise quality of services

Specific training/support to be given:

• Free specialist training given depending on type of service evaluation

• Patient Led Assessments of the Care Environments (PLACE) training

• Availability of mentoring from experienced Enter & View practitioners

• Travel expenses will be refunded

Background/Purpose

One of the primary goals of Healthwatch Bromley activity is to influence the commissioning and provision of Health & Social care services through strong evidence, rooted in community engagement, and coupled with effective liaison work on relevant boards and committees. To do this effectively Healthwatch Bromley needs to engage with a number of different audiences including the general public. This requires Healthwatch to embrace a wide range of marketing and communications techniques using a variety of communications channels, including electronic media. This role is to make efficient and effective use of electronic communications, including social media. Initially the role will focus on the website.

Benefits:

• The role will provide an opportunity for the volunteer to further practice their skills in a real and busy (if virtual) work environment.

• Ultimately, for Healthwatch, it will mean more useful engagement with more people.

Tasks:

• To regularly post stories and other information on to the website from material supplied by the Healthwatch team.

• To recommend and implement (agreed) refinements to reflect new developments and user expectations while complying with DDA and visual identity protocols.

• To identify, investigate and resolve technical issues with others.

Time commitment:

• To be agreed, but must result in the website being regularly updated (3 times a week).

When:

• Dates and times as agreed with Healthwatch Bromley staff.

Skills/experience needed:

• Experience in working with content management systems (CMS), preferably Drupal

• Sufficient understanding of how websites work and the terms used in order to engage in meaningful dialogue with website hosts/providers on technical issues

• Experience working within visual identity guidelines

• An appreciation of graphic design/layout, and ability/skills to source and manipulate images as required

• Likely to have own computer equipment and internet access

Background/Purpose

Healthwatch is an independent body whose role is to improve local health and social care. It strives to make sure that health and social care services are meeting local need. We ensure that the public’s voice is heard regarding how local services are run, any plans to change those services, and in identifying gap in services. 

We speak to patients and local groups to find out what their health issues and priorities are, and listen to people from every part of our community in the Borough of Bromley. We collate patient experiences anonymously into a report for NHS/LAS providers (e.g. hospitals, GPs, care homes etc.) that summarise the main themes and issues raised. We also make recommendations and all providers are obliged to respond to reports stating how they are going to address any issues.

Tasks:

• Holding stalls at various locations (Libraries, West Middlesex University Hospital etc.) and speaking to patients and local groups in the community to record their patient experiences

• Attending wards or outpatient areas and approaching patients and their families/carers to record patient experiences

• Providing support to the patients and their families/carers and listening carefully to their feedback

• When appropriate, signpost people to the Feedback and Complaints Team and other organisations that can support people to feedback their experiences

• Answering phone enquiries and dealing with any incoming patient experiences

• To input patient experiences into our database

Time commitment: 

• Minimum of 2 hours a week 

When: 

• Dates and times as agreed with Healthwatch Bromley staff

Skills/experience needed: 

• Aged 18 or over 

• Well presented, with a friendly approachable manner and good verbal communication and listening skills

• Understanding of, or ability to learn, personal and professional boundaries

• An ability to relate well to people on a one to one basis and be sympathetic to others’ situation

• Basic IT literacy 

• Sensitive and tactful

Benefits:

• CV building opportunities in Health & Social care sector

• Induction training

• Travel expenses reimbursed

COVID-19 EMERGENCY ROLE TO SUPPORT VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS

Are you looking for a way to support vulnerable people during these uncertain times?

If so, we really need your help.

We are looking for Volunteers to support our service users that may be self-isolating or are vulnerable during these times by dropping off essential items to an address.

Please bear in mind that due to the fast-paced situation we are faced with, with advice changing on a daily basis, there may be a bit of a delay between you applying and us being able to place you. Please know that regardless of this we value your support hugely, it is vital, and we will be in touch at some point.

Main Tasks

• To support our service users to have access to essential items such as food and medication by providing distance drop off. This would include ringing doorbell and stepping back.
• To collect items from the shops or pharmacy and then to travel to an address for the service user to deliver these items off.
• To liaise and communicate with our staff team regarding these drop-offs.
• To keep records of who you have dropped off to and summary of drop off.

Skills and Experience Required:

• Ability to travel
• Maintain confidentiality
• Good communication skills
• Basic IT skills if possible

For more information about Hestia, this opportunity and our extensive benefits with volunteering at Hestia please see our volunteers pack attached to this advert!

Hestia is proud to be a Disability Confident employer. Should you require our job pack in an alternative format, require further assistant or wish to discuss any reasonable adjustments you may need to attend an interview, please contact us via our website

If you have any convictions/cautions, this does not mean you cannot apply for any of our roles, however we do require a DBS for all positions. We will ensure that any positive disclosures on DBS records are discussed with our volunteers and fairly assessed.

Location: We are looking for support all over London, so please get in touch with where you’d be able to support us.

Hours: Flexible commitment

About Hestia

At Hestia, we have been supporting adults and children across London in times of crisis since 1970, meaning this year will mark our 50th anniversary!

Last year we worked with more than 10,000 people, including victims of modern slavery, women and children who have experienced domestic abuse, young care leavers and older people. From giving someone a home to helping them to get the right mental health support, we support and enable people at the moment of crisis.