Voluntary Services
What is volunteering
Volunteering is any activity or work in the community for which someone undertakes a specific task but receives no payment. A volunteer freely gives his or her own time to a job without financial recompense.
Volunteering as any activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individuals or groups) other than, or in addition to, close relatives. Central to this definition is the fact that volunteering must be a choice freely made by each individual.
West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (incorporating Watford General, Hemel Hempstead and St. Albans City Hospitals) recognises the important role that voluntary services activity plays in complementing the work of its staff and welcomes the varied contribution that volunteers make.
- Ensure a fair and consistent approach to the recruitment of volunteers
- Ensure that every volunteer is integrated into the workforce team to which they are allocated
- Acknowledge the value of the contribution made by the volunteers by recording them entering and exiting the ward to ensure their safety and inclusiveness
- Confirm the commitment of the Trust in involving volunteers in its work by allocating a 'mentor' for them on their allocated ward/department
- Ensure that all volunteers receive an initial interview after four sessions in relation to 'trial period'
