Bradford Teaching Hospitals is looking for new volunteers to support its patients and visitors.
The Trust’s Voluntary Services team has a range of volunteering roles, providing rewarding opportunities for people from all backgrounds across a wide range of ages.
Head of Volunteering, Clare Bancroft said:
Our volunteers are part of the team at the Trust and are extremely valuable, making a real difference to the experience of people who access our services, their carers and families. The various skills, knowledge and experience volunteers bring, makes a real difference to our services, complementing the work of our paid staff.
We welcome applications from a wide audience, to reflect the diversity of our communities and acknowledge the various reasons why people want to volunteer with us.
Roles available include helping to run the tea bars at Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) and St Luke’s Hospital, serving drinks and snacks to patients, visitors and staff, while being part of vital fund-raising teams. The Friends of St Luke’s and the Friends of BRI are well-established small charities who raise funds for the hospitals by running the tea bars, and stalls.
Both hospitals have long-established radio stations which also have vacancies for volunteers, whether it be presenting or assisting a show or helping with the technical and engineering functions behind the scenes. Radio Royal is based within its own studios at BRI, and St Luke’s Sound is based within its own studios at St Luke’s Hospital.
Both stations bring hours of pleasure 24 hours a day, seven days a week to listeners through their varied programmes of music, entertainment and information.
Clare added:
We are looking for people who may have specific skills and experience they would like to share to support other people across our services. Alternatively, there could be people who would like to gain skills and experience in the NHS, giving them an insight into our various career opportunities. Or it may simply be that someone would like to give something back to the NHS and make a real difference to the experience of our patients.
Whatever a person’s reason for volunteering, we will ensure they have all the training they require and support them on their volunteer journey with us.
Volunteers must be committed – ideally for a minimum of six months – and can give their time regularly at one of the hospitals, usually a morning or afternoon. They must be punctual, honest, and reliable and have a friendly and approachable manner. No prior experience is necessary as training will be provided.
While people need to be 18+ years old for the majority of the volunteer roles, there are some opportunities suitable for 16+ years old.
The Trust is also looking for other volunteers, including guides, and recruitment opens every two to three months so people are advised to check the website to see what new opportunities are available. For more information about all the current volunteer opportunities, please visit https://www.bradfordhospitals.nhs.uk/our-people/volunteering/