Volunteering at ULHT – how to get involved

We recognise the important role that volunteers can play in improving the experience of patients and complementing the work of staff.

Volunteering

We are very pleased to offer a wide range of volunteering roles here at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

The following content headings below will provide you with detailed information on volunteering and how to become a volunteer here at the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Trust supports and encourages the efforts of all of our volunteers who help to ensure that our patients have a positive experience during their stay in hospital.

Volunteers make a huge positive impact on our patients whilst they are in our hospitals. We have hundreds of volunteers giving their time freely to the Trust. We greatly value all their individual contribution to enhance and complement the clinical care provided by our paid staff.

Because of the high esteem our volunteers are held in by the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust it ensures they receive full induction and core learning training, and appropriate on the job training for their particular roles. United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust also provides a bright yellow uniform and ID for volunteers whilst on duty, ensuring volunteers are always easily recognisable and be approached by the public and staff for assistance whilst in our hospitals.

We are therefore looking for caring, trustworthy, committed, positive and engaging people aged over 18 who have at least four hours per week to spare, and can join us for a minimum of six months. If you are currently under 18, we have an alternative work experience scheme that could be just what you are looking for, please see below for further information.

Please take a look at the volunteer handbook for more detailed information about volunteering at the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Please also take a look at our frequently asked questions page to access more information on what we are looking for in a volunteer, the type of volunteering we offer, and how to become a volunteer

Videos

The videos below provide a further insight into volunteering at ULHT.

Volunteering at Grantham and District Hospital

Meet Voluntary Services Manager Andrew Tysoe and our 2017 Volunteer of the Year Paul Cartwright, who describe how to get involved with volunteering at ULHT.

Meet Eileen Daubney, 92, a ward volunteer in the Chemotherapy Suite at Pilgrim Hospital Boston. Credit to BBC Look North.

Jenifer Zapart talks about her volunteering role at the hydrotherapy pool at Grantham and District Hospital.

Meet and greet volunteer Andy Dryden talks about his role at the main reception.

Ward volunteer Chris Roberts talks about her experience volunteering at Pilgrim Hospital Boston.

Meet and greet volunteer Maureen Cassidy talks about her role at Grantham and District Hosptial.

Ward volunteer Peter Ford talks about his experience volunteering on the discharge unit at Pilgrim Hospital Boston.

Ward volunteer at Grantham and District Hospital, Michael Cassidy talks about why he volunteers for the Trust.

Lincoln Discharge Lounge volunteer Les Woods talks about his role and the best things about being a volunteer.

Discharge Lounge volunteer Donald Walker talks about what he gets out of volunteering.

Pharmacy volunteer Neal Wyrill explain why he enjoys volunteering.

Grantham corridor volunteer Andy Lemerle talks about his role.

Outpatients volunteer Ann Worrall discussing her role and what she enjoys.

 

Volunteering or work experience?

All our volunteer roles are non-clinical, so if you are a student looking to develop your clinical skills within a particular area of the hospital you will need to look at our work experience options.

If work experience is what you are interested in, then please visit the Talent Academy website for more information and routes to paid employment.

Volunteer roles

There are many volunteer opportunities in a variety of roles across our four hospital sites at Lincoln County Hospital, Pilgrim Hospital Boston, Grantham and District Hospital and County Hospital Louth.

The roles are wide ranging and cover a broad spectrum. These include patient facing ward and clinic based, meet and greet, and administrative roles.

You will be assigned to volunteer at the hospital nearest to your home and travel expenses will be reimbursed to you at the current United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust expense rates.

Volunteer opportunities

We are always looking for new volunteers across all our hospital and welcome applications at any time.

Below is a selection of the generic role descriptions we have available for volunteers:

Ward Buddy

Meet and Greeter

Administration Volunteer

Please contact us for more information about these and any other opportunities that are currently available.

Email: [email protected]

Telephone:

For Lincoln and Louth sites – (01522) 597838

For Pilgrim and Grantham sites – (01205) 446873

How to apply

Applying to become a volunteer is very straightforward. Simply choose the hospital nearest you and print out the relevant application form along with an Equal Opportunities form as below.

Please scan and return it to us by email or send by post to the address on the application form.

Volunteer application form for Pilgrim and Grantham Hospitals

PDF Volunteer application form for Pilgrim and Grantham

Volunteer application form for Lincoln and Louth Hospitals

PDF Volunteer application form for Lincoln and Louth

Equal opportunities form

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further advice or help with completing your application form.

Simply Contact a member of the voluntary services team by telephone or email:

Email: [email protected]

Telephone:

For Lincoln and Louth sites – (01522) 597838

For Pilgrim and Grantham sites – (01205) 446873

Character reference

Once we have received your completed application form, we will contact the referee you provided to ask for a character reference for you. The referee needs to have known you for at least one year and must not be related to you.

Interview

Once the voluntary services team has received a positive reference you will be contacted to arrange an interview with the voluntary services department. The interview will explore volunteering in more detail and discuss and identify the type of role best suited to you.

You will need to bring appropriate identity and proof of address documents with you to the interview to confirm your identity and status. It will also help to provide information in order to start a Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check that will be required for your role.

Disclosure and barring

Following a successful interview to become a volunteer, you will usually need to complete a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) application. You will also need to tell us if you have ever had a criminal conviction or caution. Your application will be rejected if you fail to do this. If you commit an offence following your registration as a volunteer, you must inform the voluntary services team. It is against the law to allow a person who is barred to carry out any regulated activity.

Induction

All Trust volunteers must complete induction and core training before they you start volunteering. You will also be required to update your learning annually or three yearly as advised.

Full details on how to access the training modules follow below. Full support to help complete this training will be provided by voluntary services training team staff.

I am still interested in becoming a volunteer and would like some additional information.

Please take the opportunity to read our Volunteering FAQs.

Alternatively, please take a few minutes to watch our volunteering videos above to see our volunteer’s personal experience of volunteering at the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

All volunteers are issued with a Volunteers Handbook. Please click this link to find out more about what is involved in being volunteer here at the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

If you need any additional information, do not hesitate to contact a member of the voluntary services team by telephone or email as below:

Email: [email protected]

Telephone:

For Lincoln and Louth sites –  (01522) 597838

For Pilgrim and Grantham sites – (01205) 446873

Volunteer training

As part of the ULHT commitment and investment in our volunteers, we have developed an e-learning platform to provide our volunteers with access to essential core training to ensure that your training is compliant and up to date at all times.

You can access the e-learning platform by clicking here.

Please note: Access to the training is password protected.  The password will be provided at the volunteer’s interview. Alternatively, contact Voluntary Services Department at any time for the password.

Once signed into the e-learning platform applicants will be able to access all the core induction e-learning training modules and complete as part of their application process.

Existing volunteers will also use this link to update their core training as directed by the voluntary services training department.