Nursing Volunteer Roles

This role is available on various wards including our Renal, Cardiology and Medicine for the Elderly wards

This role is available Monday - Sunday, 12:30-2pm and is open to anyone aged 18 and upwards

What are we looking for? 

Mealtime Volunteers support the ward team to distribute meals, interact with patients as appropriate, and ensure they have everything they need to be able to make the most of their mealtime experience.

Mealtimes can be a lonely experience in hospital, and in this role you will be able to provide companionship and conversation to those who wish to chat as well as supporting with food distribution. This role is available on various wards - we can give you more information during the application process. 

What will I be doing?

• Support the ward staff to provide meals to patients
• Take time to chat and be a companion to patients when delivering their meals
• Keep patients company while they have their meal, as appropriate
• Encourage patients to eat their meals and take a drink
• Report any issues or feedback as required to the ward staff
• Ensure patients have a clean space to eat their meal Make hot and cold drinks for patients to go with their meal, as required
• Provide condiments to patients on request
• Open food packaging for patients as required
• Help to cut up food items etc to make them easier to eat
• Where appropriate, carry out feedback surveys with patients Support other non-clinical tasks for the ward, as requested by the ward staff

The skills you need

• A friendly, positive and approachable manner
• Ability to be empathetic, patient and calm in difficult situations if they arise
• Ability to work well within a diverse team
• Ability to follow instructions
• Ability to act on own initiative 
• Excellent communication skills
• Pro-active, respectful  and attentive to patient and visitor needs
• Physically able to stand and/or move around the hospital site with ease for the duration of a shift
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including English language

What's in it for you

• A fun and fulfilling opportunity to give back to your local community as well as use and develop your skills
• Recognition for your contribution as a volunteer via our awards scheme and regular newsletter
• Reimbursement of agreed out of pocket expenses for travel and refreshments
• Volunteer Core Training and ongoing role-specific guidance, support and training
• Additional learning opportunities to help you grow and develop in your volunteer role and beyond
• An official volunteer uniform to wear whilst volunteering
• A named member of staff as a main point of contact who will support you, manage your tasks, answer questions and provide help when you need it
• Regular contact and support from staff within the Volunteering Department, including a dedicated hospital volunteering team based at your main hospital site
• An opportunity to feedback about your experience volunteering with us

Our specialist therapists work with patients at the Hospice to help them maintain their independence and mobility and manage their own condition. Complementary Therapist Volunteers assist in the treatment of palliative care patients (on the ward and in our Wellbeing Centre) to enhance their well-being and quality of life. They also provide a support function to their main carer.

We are looking for volunteers with qualification in either Aromatherapy, Holistic Massage, Reflexology, Reiki, Acupuncture, Bowen Technique, Hair/Beauty Therapy or/and others

Role description:

The Robin Cancer Trust is the UK’s germ cell cancer community, and our mission is to save lives. We are looking to appoint a trustee with clinical healthcare expertise to ensure we can offer our community the best information, resources, and support - so that every young person affected by germ cell cancer can thrive.

Our impact:

• We engage young people with humour to break the stigma of talking about germ cell cancer.
• We educate young people to give them the best chance of surviving germ cell cancer.
• We empower young people affected by germ cell cancer to thrive.

Our values:

• Respect: Not only for the important work we undertake, but also the people who support our mission. We believe in open, honest, and empathetic communication between ourselves and to our community.
• Creativity: We are a small team with a big vision – in order to drive the change we want to see in the world, we must innovate, disrupt and experiment.
• Trust: We are accountable to each other & our beneficiaries. We are responsible for upholding these values and the quality of work we undertake – and will do so with integrity at all times.

If our mission, vision, and values inspire you and resonate with you, please apply to join our Board of Trustees – we want to hear from you.

What we’re looking for…

We believe in letting our community lead us - and we hope to build a board that reflects this.

As such, we are specifically looking for a Trustee with clinical healthcare expertise, and knowledge and experience of germ cell cancer.

We want you to help lead our charity, and work with the Board of Trustees and staff team to help us reach a diverse nationwide audience with our life-saving cancer awareness, education and support programmes.

We know we are not as diverse as we want to be, so we are actively searching for people who share our passion for our mission, with different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, to collectively make a difference.

What’s in it for you?

You will be driving forward change, helping make our vision become a reality, and directly impacting the lives of young people across the country affected by germ cell cancers. In short, you will help save lives.

You will gain invaluable knowledge in strategic planning – helping us identify new opportunities for growth, as well as facing the challenges that occur in an ever-evolving sector. You will develop skills in new areas – working closely with other members of the board and the staff team to deliver our key objectives. You will also have the chance to learn from new experiences – having the opportunity to take part in our networking, fundraising events, and awareness activities in the community.

Don’t just take our word for it, here are some quotes from current and past trustees (we promise we didn’t make them say this…)

• ‘It's a privilege to be a Trustee – an awesome experience that I’d highly recommend’
• ‘I feel lucky to be a Trustee of such a brilliant charity’
• ‘It's amazing to see the impact and how far we've come in such a short amount of time’
• ‘It's not all give - you get a lot back and are always learning and challenging yourself’
• ‘It feels like being part of a community with colleagues building a movement, not a charity’

The commitment from you...

Your passion, experience, knowledge (and time).

We ask our trustees to commit to a monthly virtual meeting (approx. 1.5 hours), along with a few hours per month to support the staff team and deliver strategic goals. This is a minimum, but often trustees commit to take on additional responsibilities within projects, or within their specialities.

How do I apply?

Please apply below by submitting your CV, and your covering letter – which is your opportunity to tell us all about yourself, your experiences, your knowledge, and most importantly your passion for our cause and why you want to be a trustee of The Robin Cancer Trust!

Deadline for applications: Sunday 15th October.

We will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible and are looking at short listing applications and arranging interviews in October with appointments to be confirmed in November.

If there is anything we can do to assist you in your application or preparations to be interviewed for this trustee role, please let us know so we can ensure you have a positive and comfortable experience.

Description: You could make a real difference to the lives of patients and doctors struggling with a rare disease. That's what we do at Mast Cell Action - a charity dedicated to supporting the Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) patient community and improving the evidence base for the disease.

We work hand-in-hand with doctors and patients to develop materials that truly make a difference. And with the help of our medical advisory panel, we're constantly improving our activities to better serve our community.

But we're not done yet. We're looking for someone with a genuine interest in this area, with medical, health, NHS, and research experience to join our team. You'll be responsible for developing and executing our strategy to engage with the medical community, research organisations, NHS policymakers, and our community as a whole.

You'll lead multiple projects, collaborating with doctors to better understand and define our community, as well as initiating and executing new projects. And with your expertise, you'll ensure that all our communications are evidence-based and informative.

So, if you're passionate about making a real difference, come and join us at Mast Cell Action. Together, we can create a brighter future for patients and doctors alike.

You will lead a team of passionate volunteers and interns, working closely with our Operations Director to drive our mission forward. One of your key responsibilities will be to nurture and grow our Medical Advisory Panel, working hand-in-hand with supportive doctors and medical institutions. You'll be the face of the charity, representing us in all our interactions with these key stakeholders.

You’ll report directly to our trustee board, ensuring that all of our activities are aligned with our overall strategy and goals.

We're looking for a dynamic individual who can inspire and motivate their team to achieve great things. If you're passionate about healthcare and have experience working with medical institutions, this is the perfect opportunity for you. So why not join us at Mast Cell Action and help us make a real difference in the lives of patients and doctors?

What impact will they have?

At Mast Cell Action, we know that communicating, engaging, and educating the medical community and policy makers is crucial if we want to improve support for MCAS patients. And that's where you come in.

As our communications expert, you'll play a pivotal role in advancing patient care over time. You'll work closely with doctors, medical institutions, and policy makers to raise awareness of MCAS and advocate for better support for patients.

By effectively communicating the importance of MCAS and engaging with key stakeholders, you'll help improve patient outcomes and quality of life in the long run.

If you're passionate about making a real difference and have experience in healthcare communications, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

About the volunteer

What skills should they have

We are looking for a volunteer who has experience in the NHS and medical/research environment. If you're someone who can assess a situation and develop a clear strategy to achieve the desired outcome, we want to hear from you.

As our ideal candidate, you're an effective communicator who can engage with doctors and produce written and visual materials that really make an impact. You're also a team player who can work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team.

Managing projects and team members is second nature to you, and you're able to keep everyone on track and motivated. And with your awareness of the political and economic landscape in the area of complex diseases, you can navigate through any obstacles that come your way.

If you're passionate about making a real difference in the lives of patients with complex diseases and have the experience we're looking for, we want you on our team at Mast Cell Action.

Skills

Medical related background

Medical writing skills

Project management

Team management

Analytical and conversant with research methodologies

Nurse Lifeline is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation  which aims to launch a peer-led listening service to support the mental and emotional health  and wellbeing of nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants and the friends and family of such staff. 

Our vision is to provide a space for all nurses, midwives, health care support workers and the friends and family of such staff to decompress and chat with a peer via a confidential listening service, with your support.  We launched a new email based service which allows service users to be able to offload by emailing in instead of speaking on the phone if they prefer.  Nurse Lifeline aims to foster a positive community, provide encouragement, and empower those within the nursing and midwifery workforce. We believe it’s time to get talking about mental and emotional health.