We provide a diverse array of opportunities and invite you to communicate the types of roles and activities you are interested in supporting, as well as those you prefer to avoid. We will make every effort to align your preferences with available positions; however, we may also propose alternative roles that align more closely with your skills and experience.
We welcome people aged 17 and over to apply to volunteer with us. People under the age of 18 will need to have signed consent from their parent or guardian before starting their role.
You can volunteer and still claim benefits as long as the only income that you receive from volunteering is to cover expenses.
You must continue to meet the terms and conditions of the benefits you receive and:
- Remain available to attend interviews at short notice and to take on paid work
- Notify the benefits office that you are going to volunteer
- Ensure that you are not receiving any payments other than travel expenses claims
Usually, the time between us receiving an application and the start of a volunteering placement is approximately eight weeks.
Many volunteering and paid roles require a DBS check and there are several different types of checks including a basic or enhanced check.
Even if you have completed a recent DBS certificate, you will need to complete one specifically to volunteer at PAHT.
For your occupational health check, we will share your contact details with our staff health and wellbeing (SHaW) team, who will contact you directly to conduct an assessment. This assessment will include a review of your routine vaccination records.
To volunteer at PAHT, it is essential that all staff and volunteers are up-to-date with their routine immunisations, including tetanus, diphtheria, polio, MMR, and chickenpox. The MMR vaccine is particularly significant, as it protects against the transmission of measles and rubella to vulnerable people. While healthcare volunteers benefit from receiving the MMR vaccination for their own health, it is crucial that they are also immune to measles and rubella to help safeguard patients. Acceptable proof of immunity includes documentation of two doses of the UK-based MMR vaccine or positive antibody test results for measles, rubella, and chickenpox.
When you first start your volunteering placement, one of our volunteer coordinators and the manager of the area that you are volunteering in will support you whilst settling into your new role and introduce you to the team that you will be working alongside.
Where possible, we will arrange for you to spend your first volunteering sessions with an existing volunteer who will be able to guide you and answer any practical questions that you might have.
You can also contact our voluntary services management team during office hours for any support or advice.
Many of our roles will require volunteers to work independently and proactively and feel confident to approach and engage with people. It is natural to feel apprehensive or nervous during your first few volunteering sessions and it can take a little while before you start to feel comfortable in the role, particularly if you’re not used to working in a healthcare setting. Please be assured that this will pass with time and we are here to support you.
We request our volunteers to commit to a minimum of at least four hours per week, for twelve months. This is in order to justify the significant amount of training, investment and resources that our teams offer to new volunteers.
We appreciate that this is a significant commitment, however we aim to be as flexible as possible.
Volunteering can play an important part in developing students professionally and provide them with valuable work experience.
We recognise that volunteering should be accessible for all, including for those in full-time employment, who may wish to support their local hospital or learn more about a potential new work environment.
As with all other volunteers, students and those in full-time employment are requested to commit to a minimum of four hours per week, for one year, or the weekly equivalent (26 weeks) if their volunteering role is paused due to holidays.
This does not include the recruitment period which can take a couple of months.
On your application, we ask for the names, addresses and telephone numbers of two people, who are not a relative or a friend, who we can approach for a reference.
This may include a previous or current employer, voluntary organisation manager, or a personal reference from someone who has known you for at least three years.
We receive a very high number of applications and we are unable to guarantee a placement for everyone who applies. This is why it is so important that you provide us with as much information as possible in your application form.
Once your car details are registered with our car parking and security team, you are permitted to park in all car parking areas on site (excluding Maternity, Renal and disabled spaces (unless you have a Blue Badge) and Terminus House. We also have cycle racks available.
Travel
Volunteers can claim for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for journeys made from their home to the hospital.
There is a maximum limit of £8 per volunteering session, which applies to claims for travelling on public transport and mileage/parking. Where volunteers use their own vehicle, expenses will be reimbursed for the mileage.
The rates of reimbursement are in line with the authorised mileage rates outlined by the Inland Revenue – this is currently 0.45 pence per mile. Using these rates will ensure that our volunteers are not liable for tax.
Mealtime vouchers
We offer mealtime vouchers for volunteers who offer more than four hours of their time on a continued basis. The vouchers can be collected from the cashier’s office, using a verified volunteer identification badge, and can only be used for meals prepared in the Alexandra Restaurant and volunteers who offer between two and four hours of time will be issued with a drink token to purchase a hot or cold beverage from the Alexandra Restaurant.
We offer a wide variety of volunteering roles, including:
- Pets as Therapy
- Administration support
- Chaplaincy
- Compassionate care (namaste) volunteer, which includes Emergency Department support, mealtime buddy support, stoma support and ward support
- Forget-me-not
- Harlow Hospital Radio
- Meet and greet and wayfinding
- Patient Panel
If you have any other queries or questions, please get in touch with our voluntary services team at [email protected].